By the Light of the Moon
by Electryone
Summary: [WIP] One of the Wizarding World's most sought after pureblooded witches is in love... with a werewolf. Can such a love be possible? RLNB
1. Chapter 1

AN: This fic is rated M because of adult themes. It's probably a high T/low M, so I'm just going to have it rated M to be on the safe side. Although it starts off as a fluffly Hogwarts teenage love story, it will become darker and more adult later on. However, there will be nothing gratuitous. There will be HBP spoilers far in the future (probably not until chapter 13 or 14).

Please review, even if you hate it. I've found that my writing style changed a lot around chapter 6 (because I took a year off from this fic), but I tried to clean up the first five chapters (and yes, I still keep revising). Please let me know if you have any constructive criticism!

**By the Light of the Moon: Chapter 1**

A flurry of activity filled Platform Nine and Three-Quarters in Kings Cross station. As he had gone through the barrier, Remus Lupin had realized that this would be his last time starting a year at Hogwarts. He would be sad to leave. Hogwarts had been his first school, the place where he had made his first friends, and one of the few places where he felt truly happy. Hopefully his seventh year would be the best yet.

His parents behind him, Remus walked several steps, scanning the crowd for his friends. A group of wizards was loudly talking about politics. Several small children were chasing after each other, while their parents tried to calm them and their siblings tried to ignore them. A cat had gotten free and was running wild through the maze of people and a little girl, probably a first year, was struggling to grab it. Remus laughed. For seven years now, September first had been the most exciting day of the year for him.

Remus finally saw one of the people he was looking for.

"Moony!" Sirius yelled, waving crazily at him.

"Padfoot!" He greeted Sirius Black happily. The boys gave each other brotherly hugs. "It's great to finally see you!" It had been such a long summer without his three best friends. It had been wonderful to be around his parents, but he had missed the company of people his own age. Especially during transformation times; it just wasn't the same without them. "Are Prongs and Wormtail here yet?"

"I haven't seen Peter," Sirius rolled his eyes and made a face, "but James is off with Lily." He gestured towards the couple, standing on the other side of Platform 9 ¾. They were embracing each other. "You'd think they hadn't seen each other in a century, rather than just two months."

Remus laughed at this. He, Sirius, and Peter constantly made fun of James and Lily, but Remus had to admit that she was good for him. James had become much more mature and less self-centered when he began dating her the year before.

"Mr. and Mrs. Lupin, how wonderful to see you again," Sirius said, giving them a charming smile. "How are you doing?"

"Very well, thank you, Sirius," his mother said.

"And how is work at the Ministry going, Mr. Lupin?" Sirius asked.

Remus didn't listen to the response. His father talked daily about the drudgery of working at the Ministry and Remus already knew all about how horrible it was.

"But we'll miss our dear son," he heard his mother telling Sirius. "The house isn't the same without him!" She grabbed Remus in a hug.

Ever since he had been bitten by a werewolf at age four, his parents had been overprotective and constantly worried about letting him leave the house. However, they had made so many sacrifices for him. Although his father worked long hours, he still earned very little. His mother had gotten a job when Remus went away to school, but the combined wages of the two of them was still barely enough to get by. Several years earlier, Remus had been embarrassed by them, especially because all of his friends had a lot of money, but his humiliation had developed into an enormous amount of respect. Both of his parents were hard-working, and he loved them very much.

"Sirius!" a woman's voice said.

"Oh, great," Sirius grumbled under his breath. Then he raised his voice to its normal tone. "Aunt Cassiopeia, Uncle Cepheus, Narcissa. How lovely to see you all!"

Remus watched as the three of them greeting Sirius. He knew of Sirius' relatives, but had never actually met any of them. Well, unless he counted having classes with Narcissa Black, who hadn't spoken to him in their entire six years at Hogwarts. Sirius had told him that everyone in his family—with the exception of one uncle, and a cousin who had married a muggle and had been ostracized from the family—was narrow-minded and stuck up.

Narcissa Black looked bored at the moment and her father had a sullen look on his face. At least Sirius' aunt seemed somewhat pleasant, surprisingly. Remus turned towards his own parents, not wanting to impose on Sirius's meeting with his aunt, uncle, and cousin. Sirius had moved out of his parents' house a few months earlier, and had apparently not talked to them since.

Remus glanced at Sirius again, worried about the way he would react to his family. He looked unhappy. Finally, Cepheus Black began hinting that they needed to leave.

"Goodbye, Sirius, darling," Cassiopeia Black said.

As the three of them were leaving, Remus saw Cepheus Black stare straight at him, then his parents. He had a snide look on his face. Then he spoke in a soft, but snooty voice, one that Remus wouldn't have heard if it had not been for his acute senses. "It's appalling how unselective Hogwarts has gotten recently," he said to his wife. "It's because of that damned fool, Dumbledore. He's opened the school the Mudbloods and the peasants."

Remus suddenly felt all of the blood drain from his face as he looked down at his shabby robes, and then over at his parents, who hadn't been paying attention to Cepheus Black. Apparently Sirius had heard the remark, too. He looked completely furious, ready to lash out at his uncle. Remus grabbed his arm before he could move. "Don't, Sirius," he whispered pleadingly. Sirius took a few deep breaths until the Black family was out of earshot.

"Damn him! I hate him, he's worse than my father!" Sirius hissed, shaking in anger. Remus was upset, but not as much as Sirius. He had faced much worse remarks than that in his seventeen and a half years and was used to hearing snide comments.

"Come on, Sirius, the Hogwarts Express is going to leave in a few minutes." Remus and Sirius attempted to conceal their emotions as they said goodbye to the Lupins.

Remus's parents hugged him harder than usual. "Mum, Dad, I have to go!" he finally said with a laugh. As happy as he was to be going back to Hogwarts, he knew that he would miss his parents as much as they would miss him.

They hurried onto the train, finding that James, Lily, and Peter already had a compartment. Remus greeted the three of them enthusiastically. Still irate, Sirius threw his trunk onto the shelf with a loud BANG, then finally sat down next to James.

"What's with him?" Peter whispered to Remus, who was sitting next to him.

"He had a run-in with some of his relatives." Remus didn't elaborate.

Peter nodded knowingly. It was common knowledge among them that the Black family—with the exception of Sirius—was very much into dark magic, which conflicted with all of Sirius' principles.

"Moony, time for the Prefect's meeting," James said, standing up, holding Lily's hand. "Padfoot, Wormtail, don't get into any trouble while we're gone!" He smirked at the two of them.

"I'm sure we will!" Peter said cheerfully. Sirius still had a sullen look on his face.

"Oh, Moony," James explained as the three of them walked towards the Prefect's compartment, "Dumbledore has the most abysmal plan for Prefects. As much as I love the old headmaster, it's a horrid idea. He's convinced that the houses, especially Gryffindor and Slytherin, need to work out their differences and—"

"James, we're not supposed to say anything until the meeting!" Lily jabbed him in the side. James gave her a sheepish grin.

Remus wished that James had finished the sentence. Anything involving Slytherin couldn't be good. Of course, he would find out soon enough. Remus sat down with the other Gryffindor prefects and waited for the meeting to begin.

* * *

Narcissa Black boarded the Hogwarts Express, glad to finally be rid of her parents. _Honestly, was it really necessary for them to make a scene?_ Her father had arrogantly criticized everything and everyone he saw, and her mother had actually been crying in the middle of Kings Cross Station. The two were complete opposites, but had one major thing in common. They were both completely embarrassing to her. Narcissa sighed. 

In the past few years, her two elder sisters had both married and moved away. Her father was not speaking to Andromeda, who had married a Muggle and now had a five-year-old daughter. Narcissa had a feeling her mother kept in contact with her, however. As for Bellatrix…well, she had always been a bit wild, so they had been happy when she settled down with Rudolphus Lestrange a few months earlier. Narcissa was relieved about the distance between her and Bellatrix, who had constantly bullied her. But, she missed Andromeda and wrote to her in secret.

This was most likely the last summer that Narcissa would be at home, which caused her mother to become frantic that all of her daughters were leaving her. And Narcissa was her pride and joy, after all. This made Narcissa roll her eyes. Her father, on the other hand, was always irritable and overly critical. Usually he was less harsh on Narcissa than the other two, but he had been merciless ever since Bellatrix's wedding. He expected her to marry a pureblood of similar or higher stature, of course. Narcissa was constantly attempting to please her father. Her parents spoiled her more than her sisters, which she truly didn't mind (who would?); but, at the same time, she felt more forced to conform to their expectations than Bellatrix and Andromeda.

She found a compartment with a few other Slytherin girls, who were already gossiping about their summers. After talking with them for a few minutes, the train departed, and Narcissa left to go to the Prefects' meeting. It was her seventh year, the third in a row that she had been chosen to be a prefect. It had pleased her parents immensely, although they had been upset that she had been beaten out by a muggle for Head Girl.

Narcissa reached the compartment right as the meeting was beginning. She took a seat next to Severus Snape, the other seventh-year Slytherin prefect. Lily Evans and James Potter, the Head Girl and Boy for this year, were Gryffindors. She looked up at them as they stood at the front of the room.

"Hello, everyone," Potter began. "I hope that you have all had a pleasant summer. Congratulations to all of you for achieving prefect status. It's a privilege bestowed only upon the finest Hogwarts students. All of you will benefit greatly from it."

Narcissa felt herself tuning him out as he droned on about the importance of setting a good example for other students. She had heard the same speech the two years before, and didn't see the necessity of listening again. She sat up when Lily Evans spoke, the Sorting Hat in her hands.

"This year, Headmaster Dumbledore has decided to do something different in setting up prefect duty. It is customary for the prefects of the same year in each house to patrol together. However, he thinks it's necessary to encourage inter-House relations, so we're planning on having prefects from different houses patrolling together. All of your names were placed in the Sorting Hat, and were matched up accordingly." A few people groaned.

At that point, the Sorting Hat began reading off the assignments. The horrified look on the face of the Hufflepuff girl who was paired with Severus was absolutely priceless. Finally, it announced: "Remus Lupin, Gryffindor, and Narcissa Black, Slytherin." Narcissa noticed that both Evans and Potter gave Remus Lupin sympathetic looks. She frowned at this. _How rude_, she thought.

She glanced at Lupin, the prefect she was paired with. A sickening feeling welled up inside of her when she realized that he was her cousin Sirius's friend, the one that her father had turned his nose up at earlier. He was thin, with light brown hair, and looked tired. Or maybe he just wasn't happy to be there. His robes were ragged, and just by looking at him, it was obvious that he was poor, as her father had so rudely pointed out. Narcissa scowled. What a stupid idea. Putting people from rivaling Houses together would only cause arguments and fights.

She had a feeling that she would not enjoy this year.

Narcissa was certain that Lupin, like everyone else in the school, thought that she was a snob. There were negative rumors about her behavior to non-Slytherins, especially those who were Muggleborn or poor. She had a hunch that they had been started by a series of Ravenclaw boys who had wanted to go out with her a year earlier. She hadn't have the slightest interest in any of them, and had discouraged them. Unfortunately, this had insulted and angered them. Stupid boys. Narcissa had never actually had a boyfriend—only a few dates that had been set up by her parents. Because of that, everyone in school thought that she considered herself to be better than them.

Looking around the compartment, she noticed that nearly all of the other Prefects were making conversation with their partners. The only ones (besides her and Remus Lupin) who remained quiet were Severus and the frightened Hufflepuff prefect. Narcissa smirked. It was common knowledge that Severus had been into the Dark Arts for several years, and many of the students in other houses were afraid of him.

With a sigh, Narcissa turned towards Remus Lupin. She knew that saying nothing would be proof that she was unfriendly. She had always been quite shy around people who were different from her. She knew well enough how to act around others of the upper class because of all the social training she had received. However, it was one thing to talk with her parents' rich friends, who had a lot in common with her…but it was completely different to try to strike up a conversation with a penniless Gryffindor.

"Um, hi," she said weakly. "You're a friend of Sirius, aren't you?"

He twirled around to face her, obviously surprised that she spoke. _Do I really seem _that_ unfriendly?_ She wondered with a grimace.

"Yes, I am," he replied.

"He's my cousin," she said.

Lupin nodded. "I know."

_Of course he knows, _she thought, annoyed at herself for stating the obvious.

She wondered if Sirius had ever mentioned anything about her to his friends or if all of their opinions were shaped by her father's actions and the rumors. Narcissa and Sirius had spent the first eleven years of their lives as the best of friends. They had played together as children, since they had been the same age. Whenever they were at family gatherings, which were quite frequent until their grandparents had died eight years earlier, the two had always sought each other out, never wanting to interact with the other children. Sirius had even taught her how to play Quidditch (which she unfortunately had never taken part in at Hogwarts since Slytherin girls were strongly discouraged from trying out for the team). However, their entire friendship had changed the day that they began at Hogwarts. Narcissa had been sorted into Slytherin, and Sirius had become a Gryffindor. The two had made their own friends and house rivalry had pushed them apart. Now they only spoke to each other when they were forced to.

She realized that Lupin was staring intently at her. Looking back at him, she felt her face grow hot under his gaze. She wondered if he was wishing that he had been teamed up with a different prefect. _Probably._ She sighed unhappily. She wouldn't be surprised if he spoke with the headmaster to attempt get assigned to do the rounds with somebody else. Why had Headmaster Dumbledore wanted to do something like this? It wasn't like the houses would _ever_ get along. _This will most likely only cause more problems,_ she thought. The troubles in the past few years were mainly between Slytherin and the other houses, especially Gryffindor.

"So, what times are good for you to do the patrols?" he finally asked, still gazing at her.

She gave him a small but sincere smile, somewhat relieved that he wasn't planning on trying to change partners. "I have club meetings on Tuesday and Thursday nights, but any other time is fine."

He looked shocked at the smile, but still managed to grin back at her. "Okay, let's go tell Lily and James."

They walked over to the Head Boy and Girl together. "Hey, Moony, did you two decide on a time?" Potter asked.

_Moony?_ What kind of weird nickname was that? Narcissa shook her head and rolled her eyes. James Potter pretty much ignored her, but Lily Evans was glaring at her. _I wonder if she's still holding a grudge for the time I called her a Mudblood._ Narcissa had said it to her once in their second year, but stopped using the word altogether in her fourth year, when she realized how rude it was.

Most of the Slytherin seventh-years still did it, however, not caring that it only caused other houses to hate them more.

After a few more announcements, the meeting was over. She left the prefect's car in a hurry, then went back to sit with her friends. Narcissa spent most of the remaining portion of the train ride trying to pay attention to the chattering of the girls she had been sitting with. However, her mind was on other things.

This was her last year at Hogwarts. Because of the scandals caused by her sisters' romantic attachments, her parents expected her to marry right out of school to prevent any further embarrassment to the family. Narcissa had been angry when they told her that. Did they really think that she would follow in the footsteps of her sisters? Narcissa was nothing like either of them; she was the daughter that her parents were almost always pleased with. And she didn't think that would change any time soon.

Unfortunately, her parents refused to be logical. They had spent the entire summer introducing her to the richest and most eligible bachelors around. Very few of them were even remotely intelligent, and nearly all of the dates that she had gone on had practically bored her to tears. The only one who had piqued her interest even a little was Lucius Malfoy. He was five years older than her, and was both attractive and intelligent. In her first year at Hogwarts, she had a crush on him. But he seemed conceited, which had gotten on her nerves the times she had seen him over the summer. Nevertheless, she had promised her parents to give him a chance. And her parents were the most important people in the world to her. Despite everything they demanded from her, she loved them, and _wanted_ to please them. They were all she had in her life, and she didn't want to lose that. However, she still didn't know what to do about their insistence about marriage. She had always had a romantic vision of marrying for love, but doubted that she would ever feel love for Lucius Malfoy or any of the other men in her parent's circle of friends.

Narcissa closed her eyes. She was getting a headache just thinking about this. After what seemed like years, the Hogwarts Express arrived at the station. The ride to the castle and the Sorting Feast passed rather uneventfully, which she was grateful for. It was nice to be with her friends, but at the moment, she just wanted to be alone. The stress being put on her by her parents was exhausting, and she knew it would only get worse as the year wore on. _At least I won't be at home, though._ After escorting all of the new Slytherin students to their dorm rooms, Narcissa went to her room, glad to finally have some peace. She quickly changed into a nightgown, then got into bed, falling into a deep sleep.

After they parted, Remus had stared after Narcissa Black with his heart pounding, which was extremely surprising to him. Most of the boys in his year agreed that she was the prettiest girl in the school. Remus couldn't have cared less about something as shallow as her outward appearance. It was also common knowledge that she was one of the richest girls in the school…and one of the snobbiest. Her father, based on what Sirius had told him, was very much into dark wizardry. On a more personal level for Remus, it had been humiliating when Black made that snide comment about Remus and his family. He wondered if Narcissa Black had the same opinions as her father. His instincts told him that he should at least give her a chance, despite the fact that she always had a frown on her face.

Well, not always. She had smiled at him today, which had caused his pulse to begin racing. He had never seen a genuine smile on her face…until now. And it had been directed at him.

However, Remus wasn't stupid enough to let a pretty smile get to him. He was the most level-headed out of all of his friends, and wasn't about to let that change.

James was the only one out of the four who had actually ever had a girlfriend. Despite the fact that James was the Head Boy, he still often acted like an idiot. Especially around Lily. She was the only girl who was actually able to hold James' interest. But, he was constantly trying to impress her, usually by doing crazy things. As for Sirius, he never paid attention to all of the girls who liked him; instead he was more interested in pulling pranks and causing trouble. Not that Remus didn't occasionally join in, but Sirius was—with the help of James—the most mischievous student that Hogwarts had seen for years, and he was proud of it. Occasionally, Remus thought that he was immature, but usually was glad to be around him. As for Peter, he always wanted to be a part of the things that Sirius and James were planning. In the beginning, it had only been Sirius, James, and Remus, but Peter had continuously tried to befriend the three of them. After a while, Remus had begun to enjoy Peter's company, and then convinced Sirius and James to let him be a part of their group. After that, the four of them became inseparable.

Sirius, James, and Peter were really the three greatest friends he could imagine having. In fact, they were the first friends he had ever made. Until Hogwarts, he had never actually attended school—he was just tutored by his mother at home. Because of that, he rarely had the chance to associate with other children. Getting his acceptance letter to Hogwarts was the greatest thing to ever happen to him. He had been amazed when his friends went through all of the work necessary to be animagi just because of him. Never in his life had outside of his family made such a sacrifice for him. For that, he would be eternally grateful to his three best friends.

Remus sighed. The next full moon was in a few days. However, he didn't feel the dread that had plagued him throughout the summer. The transformation would still happen, but now he would be with his friends again. And because of that, it would be substantially more endurable. He smiled to himself, actually looking forward to the year ahead of him.


	2. Chapter 2

**By the Light of the Moon: Chapter 2**

Narcissa attempted to keep her eyes open as her Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher droned on and on. It wasn't that Professor Bones was a bad teacher; in fact, many of the students liked him quite a bit. But, this had always been her worst class. Unfortunately, all students had to take it every year. So, Narcissa was stuck with it. However, she knew that it was one of the most important subjects in school, especially for someone like her. She was always surrounded by supporters of the Dark Lord. Like her father...

She looked over to where Sirius was sitting, goofing off with James Potter. Part of her felt jealous of him. She sometimes wished that she had the courage to leave her parents behind and live on her own forever, following in the footsteps of both him and her sister, Andromeda. However, it wouldn't be the same for her as it had been for them. Neither of them had been close to their parents. Narcissa was; in fact, her family was the only thing in her life. What would she do without them?

Narcissa's eyes wandered to Remus Lupin, who was sitting at the table next to Potter and Sirius. He was one of the few students who was actually paying attention in class. Suddenly she remembered that tonight was the first night of their prefect patrols together. She wasn't sure why, but the thought of patrolling with him made her nervous. It probably wouldn't be any worse than patrolling with Severus Snape, as she had the past few years. She and Severus had usually spent the entire time in complete silence. The only thing they really had in common was their love for Potions. Narcissa had always had the highest marks in the class, after him. But, there was only so much conversation that could be made about brewing potions.

However, doing rounds with the Gryffindor who her father had snubbed several days earlier was not her idea of fun. She sighed, scowling. The Ravenclaw prefects weren't that bad; why couldn't she have been paired up with one of them?

After the class was over, Narcissa walked out of the room, chatting with a few of her friends. Suddenly she felt someone grab her arm softly. She turned around and found herself looking straight at Remus Lupin. He gazed intensely into her eyes, a look that almost scared her. She just stared back at him for several seconds, but then he averted his eyes. "Black, meet me in front of the doors to the Great Hall at nine tonight," he told her. She nodded, for some reason unable to speak, and he turned away and went back to his friends.

One of the Slytherin girls, Emilia Wilkes, came up behind her. "So now you're slumming with Gryffindors?" she asked with a sneer on her face.

Narcissa frowned. "I have to do prefect duty with him." She rolled her eyes.

Emilia smirked. "Sure you do," she said sarcastically. "Well, at least you picked a cute one. Of course, if I had Lucius Malfoy after me, you wouldn't see _me_ with other guys."

"You can have Lucius," Narcissa mumbled so softly that Emilia hadn't even heard, then lifted her chin up and walked away. Lucius had written to her twice in the past two weeks, both times to brag about himself. He hadn't once inquired about her in his letters. The interest she had felt in him had waned very quickly. The man had to be the most self-absorbed person in all of Britain. He was planning to visit her at Hogwarts in three weekends. She was not looking forward to it.

At ten minutes to nine, Narcissa reached the Great Hall. Remus Lupin was already waiting in the corridor, leaning against the wall. "You're early," he told her with a lazy grin on his face.

Something about the boyish expression on his face made her heart flutter. She smiled back at him. "So are you."

Their time together went better than she had hoped. Lupin was much more personable during their rounds than Severus had been in the previous two years. He had refrained from mentioning her family or asking her about her rumored relationship with Lucius Malfoy (which was a favorite topic of most people who talked to her), much to her relief. Instead they had spoken about classes, teachers, and other students. Remus Lupin was as bad in Potions as she was in Defense Against the Dark Arts. She almost wanted to tell him that she would help him with their Potions assignments, but she held her tongue. Just because they weren't hexing each other during prefect patrols didn't mean that they were friends. He was a Gryffindor, after all, and a poor one at that. Hell, he probably was only trying to make the best of the time they were forced to spend together. But he probably didn't want to see her any more than that. Of course, he had been very early to meet her tonight… Narcissa shook her head. _Don't be stupid_, she told herself. And why did she even care?

* * *

Remus had a smile on his face when he said good night to Narcissa Black. It had been surprising to him; he had been expecting their patrol to be the longest three hours of his life. But she had actually been pleasant, contrary to everything Sirius—and the rest of the students at Hogwarts—had said about her.

Every Monday and Friday night for the next few weeks was spent doing rounds with her. He didn't want to admit it, but he had begun to look forward to those evenings. However, as the month wore on, he knew that the moment he dreaded was approaching. The day of the full moon. Well, it wasn't much different from the one before; he had been at Hogwarts last month too.

"Did you see him? He's so gorgeous!" one Gryffindor girl in their common room was saying to another one Saturday afternoon—which happened to be the day of his transformation—right as Remus arrived with Sirius, James, Lily, and Peter.

"Are you talking about me again?" James asked jokingly. Lily elbowed him playfully.

The girls giggled. "No, Lucius Malfoy. He was here at Hogwarts today! And he's spending the day with Narcissa Black!"

"I'm so jealous! She totally doesn't deserve him," the other girl piped up. "He's one of the most eligible bachelors in the wizarding world. And his family is so rich!"

Remus tried to shrug off the emotions welling up inside of him. It almost seemed like he was envious of Lucius Malfoy, which was insane. Malfoy was one of the biggest prats to ever attend Hogwarts, after all. He ignored the gossiping of the girls, and dropped into an armchair. He was already tired, and it wasn't even twilight yet.

"So, Moody, ready for a fun night in Hogsmeade?" Nodding, Remus tried to smile at Sirius, pretending to be happy. After all, it was always easier to keep his mind when he was with his friends. And as a werewolf, he was able to understand the speech of both humans and animals, although he couldn't be around people.

"I should get going," Remus mumbled, realizing that it was nearly sunset. He wasn't in the mood to be around others, even if being alone in his state would cause him to lose his mind for a few hours. Of course, James, Sirius and Peter weren't going to let that happen. He was grateful for that, but tonight he just wanted to be alone.

He reached the Shrieking Shack with time to spare. His friends wouldn't come until after they were sure he was finished transforming. Remus lay down on the bed, staring at the ceiling. He felt worse today than he usually did on full moon days. As he closed his eyes, he tried—with very little success—to get Narcissa Black out of his head. Lucius Malfoy. Of all the men in the world, why him? He was utterly despicable. Remus sighed. Why did it bother him so much? It was none of his business who she was interested in. They weren't dating; in fact, they weren't even friends. She was just the other prefect that he was paired up with, something that had been forced upon them.

Suddenly Remus began feeling different. His skin began tingling, a sign that the hair was beginning to grow. This was followed by claws and sharper teeth. As this was all happening, his body began growing slightly larger and more muscular. The entire process took about an hour. And the whole thing was extremely painful.

He felt like an outside observer throughout most of the events between the beginning of the transformation and the time his friends arrived. He could hear himself howling and knew that he was acting particularly violent, but it was nothing that he could control. The other three arrived at one point, and it took Prongs and Padfoot about five minutes to calm him down. Wormtail usually waited for them to finish doing that since his animagus form was too small to be of use in that respect. Finally, Remus felt as though he had the ability to control himself.

The other three began talking to him animatedly about sneaking out of the castle to reach him. He had never met anyone more enthusiastic about rule breaking than his friends. The thought made him feel better for some reason. He knew that no matter what, they would always be like that. It actually comforted him, because he knew that they would always be there for him. They were the most important people to him.

After they were certain that the coast was clear in Hogsmeade, they left the house. All of them knew that it was against the rules; yet, none of them cared. Out of all of them, Remus worried about it the most, because of the possibility that he could harm somebody. But his friends always made certain that wouldn't happen. Still, it would have been quite an odd sight to see—a werewolf, a dog, and a stag with a rat riding on his back.

They wandered around Hogsmeade, completely deserted at this time of night. It was these times that Remus always enjoyed the most, when it was just the four of them. It felt like the town was completely theirs and that they could do anything.

Remus gasped inwardly when he heard the sound of voices. Just something as simple as that was enough to put his body and mind into a mode where he wanted nothing more than the taste of blood. In fact, he was no longer Remus Lupin. He was some other being. He began to go in the direction of the people. He caught a flash of white-blonde hair in the moonlight. Lucius Malfoy. Hatred welled up inside of him as the beast awoke again. "Moony!" he heard somebody—an animal—scream. Human Remus couldn't even imagine what caused him to run towards the man furiously, with the desire to tear him apart.

Bam! Remus collided with something large, and felt a throbbing in his side. He realized that he had run into one of Prongs's antler. Remus fell onto the ground, clutching himself in agony. He could hear himself howling, could feel the pain coursing through him, but it still felt unreal. Somehow they got back to the Shrieking Shack. Remus yowled a little longer, eventually falling into a deep sleep.

When he awoke the next day, the sun was shining in and he was back to being himself. Well, somewhat. He walked back through the Whomping Willow and into the castle, pausing to glance into a mirror. His eyes had dark circles underneath them, and his body looked worn out. And his side still ached. None of his friends were in the common room when he arrived, so he went up to his room. "Moony, you're back!" Peter said. He was sitting with James and Sirius. The three of them looked tired also.

"What happened last night?" Remus asked. He remembered something about Lucius Malfoy and James's antler… But the rest was hazy in his mind.

"That damned Lucius Malfoy came along and spoiled our fun," James told him.

"He was walking Narcissa back to Hogwarts, and he just happened to come along right as we were in the area," Sirius added. "I don't even know why I bothered to save him." He paused for a moment with a shudder. Nobody responded to that. Remus knew that all of them were thinking about the same thing—the situation with Severus Snape. It was something that none of them were proud of, for they knew that Remus would have killed him or at least injured him badly if it had not been for James.

"Anyway," Sirius continued. "He had just left the Hogwarts gates, when you saw him. I immediately ran to him and started barking. I was hoping he would be able to take a hint and get lost. Instead the bastard kicked me!" Sirius looked irate for an instant but then chuckled. "So I bit him!"

"He apparated immediately to get away from Padfoot!" Peter added. He and Sirius laughed.

"In the meantime, I was attempting to block you from going towards him. I was trying to trip you, but you ended up running straight into my antler," James told him, a sheepish look on his face. "Sorry about that. Is it okay now?"

Remus nodded. "My stomach is just a bit bruised. And I think I need to get some rest. I'm exhausted!" He tried to sound convincing. After a few moments, the other three left and he collapsed onto his bed. This hadn't been the first time he had nearly had an encounter with a human while he was in his werewolf form. But this had been one of the worst. Never before had he been so bloodthirsty, so vicious. In fact, he hadn't known that it was possible for him to become such a ruthless monster. The thought of that scared him more than anything ever had before.

* * *

Narcissa woke up with a migraine on Monday morning. Her weekend had been terrible, and she wasn't looking forward to sitting through all of her classes today. It had all started Saturday afternoon when Lucius arrived. Although students were not allowed to leave Hogwarts premises, exceptions were made when Lucius Malfoy requested something. Much to Narcissa's chagrin, Dumbledore had allowed her to leave for the day to be Lucius's date for an afternoon luncheon. She was usually able to tolerate that type of thing, and sometimes even enjoyed it. However, Saturday had been different. Narcissa hadn't known a single person—except for Lucius Malfoy, of course. Because of that, it had been dreadfully boring for her. After that was over, Lucius had taken her out for a "romantic" dinner. They had spent the next few hours talking. Well, Lucius had been talking; Narcissa had mostly smiled and nodded at his comments.

The worst part of the night had come when she _finally_ thought that it was going to end. He had started kissing her, which she had begun to get used to. It wasn't completely disgusting; he seemed to have lots of experience and she was able to let her mind wander and pretend that she was somewhere else completely. But, it reached a new level when she felt his hands on her breasts and Lucius had informed her that she was not expected back at Hogwarts for the night; in fact, he had a hotel room reserved in Hogsmeade. The thought of her first sexual experience being with somebody she didn't love—or even particularly like—made her feel sick to her stomach. She had told him that she was waiting until marriage, which he had fortunately believed. But he hadn't been happy about it.

In fact, the next day she had gotten a Howler from her father, berating her for not treating Lucius Malfoy with the respect that he deserved. Father obviously didn't know the circumstances, but she gathered that Lucius had complained about her behavior. Narcissa was upset that she had disappointed her father, but there was absolutely no way that she would compromise her morals to please the snooty Lucius Malfoy.

At breakfast on Monday, everyone began asking her about her date with Lucius. Luckily none of them knew about the Howler; she had received it in the privacy of her own room. She tried to steer the conversation away from Lucius Malfoy and the possibility that he would propose to her, mostly unsuccessfully. She had finally been forced to make up excuses about having an essay to finish, and escaped to her dorm room. Classes during the day went by uneventfully, despite the rumors about Narcissa and Lucius.

She didn't know why, but she was actually hoping for nine o'clock to come, for that was the time when she would meet Remus Lupin for their patrols. It was silly, but she found him pleasant to be around. Narcissa arrived twenty minutes early, only to find him already there, leaning against the wall, reading a book. He looked a bit tired, more so than usual. "You're early again," she said.

"So are you." Narcissa grinned when he said this. It was the same interaction every night, since the first day. There was no reason for her to show up so early other than being in his company for a few extra minutes. Was that why she did it? It was rather odd of her.

"How was your weekend?" he asked her as they began walking outside to patrol the Hogwarts grounds.

Narcissa just shook her head. She didn't want to lie and say that she had a good weekend. She hadn't; both Lucius and her father had made sure of that.

"You okay?" Lupin asked, putting his hand on her shoulder. She stopped walking as he touched her

She opened her mouth to say yes, but for some reason, other words poured out instead. "No, I'm not. I'm dating somebody I dislike, and if I break up with him, my parents will disown me unless I have an equally rich pureblood as a backup. And my father sent me a Howler for not being encouraging enough to Malfoy." She didn't know what possessed her to tell him any of her troubles, especially since she hadn't mentioned anything to anybody else. He was a Gryffindor, after all. Of course, none of the Slytherins were truly her friends; most of them only liked her because of her family's money and connections. But Remus Lupin wasn't anything like that.

"Sorry," she finally said, embarrassed. "I'm being so selfish and annoying you with all my problems." She was aware that she hadn't even bothered to ask him how he was, instead whining about her own trivial problems. She smiled apologetically but was taken aback when his strong gaze met hers.

"Don't apologize, Narcissa. It's always good to talk to somebody." The tone of his voice and the sweetness of his words made her feel warm. It was the first time he had ever called her by her first name. He gently brushed a stray lock of hair out of her face, his fingers lingering on her cheek. Narcissa's heartbeat quickened at his touch and she began to feel light-headed. It was the first time she had ever experienced this strange feeling.

However, the moment was over as quickly as it began when Remus turned his head away from her. "We should get back to doing our rounds." Narcissa could only nod and follow him. For some reason she was speechless. In addition to being disappointed. His touch had been so soft, but when he pulled away, she had immediately felt empty. What was wrong with her?


	3. Chapter 3

**By the Light of the Moon: Chapter 3**

"Can you help me study for the Defense Against the Dark Arts exam?"

Remus looked at Narcissa Black, the surprise he felt evident in his expression. They had been in the middle of making their rounds when she stopped to ask her question. "You want me to help you with Defense Against the Dark Arts?" he asked stupidly. He immediately looked down, blushing at the tongue-tied and awkward state he seemed to go into when he was near Narcissa Black.

"Yes," she replied. "It's my worst class and everybody knows that you're the best student in the class." She paused briefly, blushing. "Oh, never mind, just forget about it." She turned away, walking ahead of him. If he hadn't known better, he would have thought that she looked embarrassed.

"Narcissa, wait!" he called, catching up to her in a few long strides. She turned around as he grabbed her arm gently. "I'd love to help you before our exam."

"Really?" she asked, her blue eyes brightening as a warm smile formed on her face. Remus then realized that he was still holding her arm. The feel of her skin underneath his fingers was intoxicating. He didn't ever want to let go…

But he had to. As much as he wanted to spend the rest of the night gazing into the eyes of Narcissa Black (_did he want that?_), he had to control himself for the sake of both of them. She was a Slytherin pureblood from one of the richest and most prestigious families in the entire wizarding world. He was a Gryffindor nobody, a halfblood. His mother had been a Muggleborn wizard who hadn't even known about the magical world until she received her letter from Hogwarts. His father, although pureblooded, had been dirt poor growing up.

He knew what the Black family was like. It had been apparent not only during his encounter with Narcissa's father in the train station, but also after all of the years he had spent as Sirius's friend. Sirius rarely said anything nice about his family; he usually only griped about how horrible they were. And Remus knew that Sirius wasn't exaggerating. Narcissa and Sirius both had controlling fathers who were zealous in their belief that the wizarding world should only be made up of purebloods. It was well known that Narcissa's parents had disowned their oldest daughter when she married a Muggle.

Remus turned away. Spending this much time with Narcissa Black was a bad idea. Everything about her was wrong. Her family hated Muggles. Lucius Malfoy, one of Voldemort's biggest supporters wanted to marry her. Malfoy was the type of man who got whatever he wanted, no matter what obstacles were in his way. And Narcissa was a Slytherin. In fact, she was the embodiment of all things Slytherin. She was rich, pureblooded, and she acted that way most of the time. He had seen her with her friends—all of whom were pureblooded Slytherins—and she rarely smiled or laughed. Even when she was in her first few years, she hadn't acted childish like other students; her mannerisms were that of a miniature adult.

However, at times, he felt like she was letting her guard down around him, acting different from the Slytherin ice princess that everybody else saw her as. She had been like that when she told him about Lucius Malfoy, and a few moments earlier when she asked him for help. Which was why he ignored everything inside of him that told him not to spend any more time with her than absolutely necessary. "Yes. Meet me in the library tomorrow after classes are over."

Remus didn't know why he had a nervous feeling in the pit of his stomach throughout the entire next day. Maybe because he had never met with Narcissa outside of classes or patrols. Remus sighed. He was being stupid. The only reason she had even asked him was his high marks in Defense Against the Dark Arts, her worst class. It wasn't like he had never helped anybody with Defense Against the Dark Arts before. But this was the first time he had ever helped _her_. What if she realized that he wasn't as smart as everybody thought?

After several hours of classes, he was finished for the day. He arrived at the library to find Narcissa there already, looking at a book on the table in front of her. Remus stood and watched her in silence for a few seconds. She was deep in concentration, her eyes focused on the words of her book. He swallowed as she brushed a strand of hair out of her face, remembering the feel of her cheek during the moment when he had been bold enough to reach out and touch her. He nearly jumped when she turned her head towards him.

"Oh, hello," Narcissa said, a smile lighting up her face. Lord, she was beautiful.

"Why don't we go elsewhere so that we can practice countering curses?" he suggested. They walked around for a few minutes until they found an empty classroom. When they got there, he began showing her some spells to block some of the more advanced hexes. It was their seventh year, and most of the counter spells they had to learn were quite complicated. Still, he started out with some of the basics, just to see how well she could block them. She knew how to block the disarming spell, in addition to most of the others they had been taught in their first six years. Eventually he decided to do try out a few more difficult curses.

_"Stupefy!" _Although it was easy to perform, it was a tough curse to block. Unfortunately, Narcissa didn't do it her first time. _"Ennervate,"_ he said, pointing his wand at her to undo the stunning spell. "Are you okay?" he asked, holding out a hand to help her up.

"Yes, I'm fine," she muttered, looking upset as she took his hand. Remus gave her a look of encouragement. They tried the spell a few more times, until she finally got it.

"Okay, now I'm going to do some at random, so you don't know what to expect." Narcissa nodded, almost looking nervous. She held her wand ready as Remus began. _"Tarantallegra!"_ She deflected it away from herself, and he had to duck to avoid being hit by it. _"Stupefy!" _He smiled when she managed to avoid it. _"Relashio!"_ She performed a quick charm to extinguish the sparks of fire. _"Stupefy!"_ She seemed confused at first because he repeated it, but still was able to block it. He did a few more advanced ones, all of which she blocked successfully. "That was great," he told her with a grin. "I'd be very surprised if you didn't get one of the highest grades on the test."

She blushed. "It's only because of you," she murmured. "I'm more at ease with you here than anybody else I've ever studied with." Then she smiled warmly at him, coming several steps closer to him, her hypnotizing gaze never leaving his. "You should become a teacher," she told him.

"You think so?" he asked. She nodded. He suddenly realized that she was right in front of him. His eyes moved from her eyes down to her lips. Everything about her was so inviting. His heart was thumping insanely as he moved his face closer to hers.

Both of them were startled when the door opened. Remus jumped back, and he saw Narcissa do the same, her face bright red.

"Remus, Narcissa, what are you doing? You've been gone for hours," Sirius said, looking annoyed. Why was he here? Remus could see a piece of parchment in Sirius's hands, which he knew was the Marauder's Map. He was angry that Sirius had used it to pry into his business. It was on the tip of his tongue to tell Sirius that it was no concern of his, but decided against it. It wouldn't do any good to begin an argument with one of his best friends.

"We're just studying for Defense Against the Dark Arts," Remus said quietly.

"Don't you have Slytherins you can study with?" Sirius said with a sneer at Narcissa. She glared at him, but Remus could see something different beneath the surface. There was a hurt expression in her eyes. Then she turned and left the room without another word.

Remus was surprised. Sirius had told him that Narcissa Black, his cousin, had been his best friend growing up, but this was the first time that it ever occurred to him that it might not have been Narcissa's fault that the friendship had ended. Now he was realizing that it might have been Sirius who had been the cause of it. Remus scowled, which was something that he rarely did, since he was the most easygoing and laidback student in the entire seventh year class, at least when there wasn't a full moon. But for some reason he felt irritated that Sirius had intruded on his time with Narcissa.

"What's wrong with you?" Sirius asked, noticing how Remus was glaring at him.

"Nothing," Remus mumbled, turning away. Sirius just shrugged and followed Remus back to their common room. Remus didn't say much to his friends for the rest of the evening; instead he tuned them out as his thoughts kept drifting back to a certain blonde-haired Slytherin. Her beautiful smile, her brilliant blue eyes. He wished that he could get her out of his head. Or did he? He kept telling himself that she was nagging at his thoughts, but every time she appeared in his mind, he smiled. Even the time he spent with his friends paled in comparison the times that he spent with her. And he knew that this wasn't a good thing. For Narcissa Black would never be interested in somebody like him.

* * *

Narcissa hurried to the place where she and Remus Lupin always met. She hadn't spoken to him since their study session a few days earlier. She wanted to thank him, to tell him that she had passed the test all because of him. Ever since that day that she studied with him, he had been in her mind constantly. What would have happened if Sirius hadn't interrupted them?

Everything about Remus was so different than anybody else that she had ever met. He was so sweet and kind… nothing like the Slytherin guys that she knew. Many of them had parents who were heavily into dark magic (like her own), and several were already devoted to the Dark. Well, a few of them were normal enough, although most immature and foolish. However, nothing that she had felt about any other males could compare to the feelings that Remus was stirring up inside of her.

This was bad. She couldn't be developing feelings for him—it just wouldn't be right. For one thing, she was expected to marry a rich, pureblooded man. And if she didn't, her father would disown her, the same way he had with Andromeda. And she knew that Mum was too afraid of him to say anything about that. Narcissa slumped against the wall when she arrived at the meeting place, her eyes closed. He wasn't there yet, which was a bit surprising. Usually he got there early.

After waiting for a few more minutes, she began looking at her watch every thirty seconds. Where could he be? What if Sirius had convinced Remus to change his patrol partner? Finally, she heard footsteps. She turned to give Remus a smile, which faded when she realized that it wasn't him.

"Hi," Lily Evans said. "Remus is sick tonight, so I'm going to be doing rounds with you instead. Narcissa smiled at her, trying to hide her disappointment. She knew that Lily Evans didn't like her and wished that Remus was here.

Narcissa attempted to talk to her, but it was difficult. The two of them spent a few minutes having strained conversation about classes and other general topics, but finally gave up, finishing the rest of their rounds in silence.

She didn't think much of Remus's absence until it happened again, exactly one month later. It had also happened the month before. He was always missing from classes one or two days every month. The _same time_ every month. She hadn't thought much of it until now. Was it just a coincidence? She had a hunch that it wasn't. Something strange was going on. Narcissa wanted to ask him about it, but something told her not to. She was aching to know, though. Although nothing had happened between them—to her disappointment—he had become important to her over the past few months and she was worried about him.

So the next time it happened, she decided to find out. She spent the day studying in an empty classroom near the Gryffindor Tower entrance so that she could see everybody who came and left. She used the Concealment Charm so that nobody would notice her through the open door. When Remus passed by, she used a silencing charm on her shoes and followed him. She hated doing it, but couldn't help her curiosity.

He walked downstairs all the way to a side door out of Hogwarts Castle. Narcissa had explored many parts of the castle before, yet she had never been there. It made her realize how large the school really was. Surprisingly, he went outside despite the cold weather. She still followed him. He had never once looked back, which she was grateful for. The December air around her was below freezing. She shivered. What was he doing outdoors? Despite the deceptive dark clouds in the sky, she realized that it was late in the day, practically the evening. However, Remus went straight to the Whomping Willow, which began going haywire. _The Whomping Willow?_ However, just when she had begun to think that the situation couldn't get any more peculiar, Remus grabbed a long branch and pressed it into the tree. Suddenly the Whomping Willow froze, and Narcissa could see an opening in the base of the tree.

This had to be one of the oddest things she had ever seen. The worst part was that she was actually considering following him. She stared at the tree for a few minutes, until it was back to normal. This was the perfect time to turn back and forget about everything that she had just seen. True, it was a mystery; however, it was none of her business.

Rather than doing what her mind was telling her was the safest and best thing for the situation, she walked towards the tree. She approached it tentatively, picking up the branch that Remus had discarded. Suddenly another branch swung in her direction. Narcissa ducked out of the way, pushing the branch in her hand at the trunk. She had hoped that the tree would stop if she poked it, but it didn't. After a few more tries (and a few more attempts by the tree to strike her), the Whomping Willow stopped moving, as though it was paralyzed.

Narcissa grinned, happy that she had hit the correct place in the trunk and remained uninjured. She was being stupid, acting like a Gryffindor. She didn't know why she hadn't turned around; there was some unseen force causing her to follow Remus Lupin into… well, she didn't really know where she was following him to. What if he was meeting a girl in Hogsmeade? Or something else of the sort? Narcissa knew that she would be crushed if that was the case. She hated the thought that she might be forced to share him. Not that he was hers in any way. However, she did wonder what it would be like to be his girlfriend. It would never happen, not even if he wanted it to, which he most certainly did not.

Narcissa walked and walked. The tunnel under the Whomping Willow seemed to go on forever. It seemed that she was going in the direction of Hogsmeade. Was this one of the famous but unknown secret passages? However, she was more than a little disturbed that Remus was going into Hogsmeade alone. If he had truly wanted to sneak out of Hogwarts, wouldn't he have chosen to go with his friends? And how had he even known about the passageway in the first place?

The more she advanced through the tunnel, the more she began to think that it was a bad idea. He was probably meeting a lover in Hogsmeade. He wouldn't be the first person to do something of the sort; a few of the girls in Slytherin had older boyfriends who they slipped out to meet on occasion. That was the most reasonable explanation. However, right when she was telling herself to turn away (again), there was a faint light ahead of her. She slowly walked towards it. She knew it would probably take her to Honeydukes or one of the other shops in Hogsmeade, but she didn't want to be seen by anybody. She could easily be expelled for sneaking out of the Hogwarts grounds. In addition, she didn't want to be forced to explain why she was doing it. She didn't even know why herself.

Narcissa reached a door. She hoped that she wouldn't open it only to find that Remus was with another woman. She hesitantly stepped up the door, framed in light, and put her hand on the knob. Should she go in? She stared at it contemplating. Her intuition told her that whatever was on the other side was not something she wanted to see. She ignored the feeling.

"Remus?" she asked as she walked in. There was no answer. She looked around the room, which appeared to be part of some sort of house. She gasped. The Shrieking Shack… There were rumors about this place being haunted. Since she had begun at Hogwarts, there had been unexplained noises coming from this place. Screams, yells, and howls. So what was Remus doing here? It was a mystery…

The room she was in had a lot of furniture in it, most of which was broken. Wide-eyed, Narcissa glanced around it. She placed her hand on top of a table, expecting to come up with a handful of dust. But she didn't. Everything was clean. Despite the outward appearance of the house, it was surprisingly not as rundown as she would have thought. In fact, it looked as though all of the furnishings—although damaged—were less than ten years old. She walked into the next room, her curiosity getting the better of her. There was a small fire glowing in the fireplace, the only source of light in the room. Finally her eyes fell on a figure, hunched in a corner. "Remus?" she asked in a quiet voice.

The figure turned to face her, and Narcissa cried out in alarm, stunned for an instant. It was not Remus. It certainly reminded her of him, but he was not the Remus that she knew. He was covered in hair, a malicious expression on his face, which had the same features of Remus's, but none of the warmth that she always saw in him. She could see his sharp teeth, which looked like fangs. Definitely nothing like Remus Lupin.

However, the moment she saw his eyes, reflected in the firelight, she realized that it _was_ him. They were the same, but at the same time, nothing like him at all. His eyes usually reflected his happiness, at least whenever she saw him, but tonight there was only one expression that she could see in those eyes. Torture. He looked like he was in pain, both physical and emotional.

She felt frozen in place, unable to move; in fact, she couldn't even breathe. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she began to realize what she was looking at, what Remus Lupin truly was. A werewolf.

Narcissa gasped aloud with her awareness of this. He began growling, slowly walking closer to her. Narcissa stepped backwards, grabbing her wand out of her pocket. However, she tripped on an overturned chair and she fell, her wand rolled out of her hand. The hungry look on his face almost caused her heart to stop. He wanted to kill her. And she knew that it wasn't his fault—no, not at all; it was because _she_ had been stupid enough to actually follow him. If she had only minded her own business, and not been so nosy… well it was too late to scold herself now.

Narcissa moved back a little more, straight into the wall. She regretted walking further into the room, since he was now between her and the door. There was no way out.

She could see the internal struggle that he was going through. Somewhere deep inside of him, Remus was crying out telling the wolf to stop. However, she knew a little bit about werewolves from all her Defense Against the Dark Arts classes. And the soul of the beast always won out over that of the man during a full moon, which meant that he was going to attack her. Tears began to form in her eyes. She would be killed… or worse, turned into a werewolf.

The only sound in the room was his raspy breathing as he advanced on her. She squeezed her eyes shut when he neared her, knowing that she would feel his teeth sinking into her skin at any moment. She briefly wondered if it would be better to get bitten—and to become a werewolf—or die. They both would be horrible.

Narcissa wished more than anything that this was all just a horrible nightmare. However, she knew that it wasn't. In all of her seventeen years, nothing had ever scared her this much.

Her eyes shot open when she heard a different noise. The werewolf was lying on the ground, having been attacked by what looked like a dog and a deer. She wasn't sure exactly what happened. Part of her wanted to see if Remus was okay. But he was not the one she should have been worrying about. She needed to get out of the room as quickly as possible. And she did.

After reaching for her wand, Narcissa ran, not even caring where she was going. Tears were streaming down her face as she rushed out of the house and into the underground tunnel. In her confusion, she tripped and fell. The feel of her arm as it connected with pavement hurt, but that wasn't important. She crumbled to the ground, and continued crying into her hands.

Suddenly she heard footsteps. Through her tears, she could see an angry Sirius, followed by Peter Pettigrew and James Potter. What were they doing here?

"S…Sirius?" she sniffled.

"You foolish girl! What the hell did you think you were doing! You could've been bitten! Or killed!" he screamed at her. The expression on his face was one of pure rage. Narcissa was too shocked even to continue crying.

"Why are you here?" she whispered, almost afraid of him. She had known Sirius for as long as she could remember, yet she had never seen him lose his temper this badly.

"We just saved your life," he barked at her. She closed her eyes, trying to process what was happening.

"What… how…?" she asked in a soft voice.

"We're animagi," James Potter said, speaking more calmly than Sirius had been. "I'm a stag. Sirius is a dog. And Peter's a rat. We usually spend the night of the full moon with Remus." Narcissa took a few deep breaths, trying to relax, but it didn't work; her breaths came out in choked sobs.

"What about Remus? Is he…?" she asked urgently, dreading the response.

"He's fine," Peter Pettigrew said quickly.

"You still haven't explained what you were doing here," Sirius hissed. The coldness in his voice stung, even though she knew that she deserved nothing less.

She knew that no explanation she could give would suffice. She had just made a huge mistake, and had discovered something she would have been better off not knowing about.

She had wanted to find out everything about Remus. As much as she had hated to admit it to herself, she had been falling for him. But now… now that she knew that he was a werewolf, everything was so different.

"I was just curious. But I had no idea…" The tears began falling again.

"How could you be so stupid!" Sirius yelled. For a few seconds she just looked at him. She _had_ been stupid, but did he have to be so malicious about it? Then, Narcissa finally snapped.

She gave Sirius her meanest glare, then screamed, "I hate you! You're such a bastard, Sirius!" She rushed away, leaving him staring after her, with his mouth wide open. Narcissa rarely let down her cold façade; it took _a lot_ for her to get angry. She had only lost her temper a handful of times throughout her life. But Sirius had gone too far.

A moment later, Sirius called back to her. "Narcissa!" She could hear him moving towards her, but she didn't pay attention. She didn't want to hear him shout at her anymore. "'Cissy!" he said desperately, using a nickname he hadn't used since she was eleven.

She turned on him, still crying. "How can you be so cruel? I feel horrible enough already without you making things worse!"

He was next to her in a few strides. "I'm sorry, Cissy," he said, enveloping her in his arms. "When I saw you with Remus, I felt so scared." He stumbled over the word. She knew how much the Gryffindor in him hated admitting being anything but courageous and fearless at all times.

Narcissa buried her head into his chest, allowing her tears to continue falling freely. Sirius murmured words of comfort and stroked her hair as she shook with heartrending sobs.

She was overwhelmed by the emotions coursing through her. Remus had become so important to her, but she realized that she hadn't known him at all. The beast that had stared back at her was definitely not Remus.

Narcissa attempted to get up and walk back to her dorm room. However, her strength was completely gone, replaced with a feeling of helplessness and despair. As she stood, her legs gave out, and she sunk into unconsciousness.

* * *

Remus howled in anguish. The few pieces of furniture that hadn't been destroyed in the past had been thrown, broken, and clawed at over the past few minutes. The only human emotion that he felt at the moment was anger at himself. And the part of him that was a beast (which was dominating his mind) took out this rage with aggression.

He stopped for a few seconds, panting. Of all the people, why her? _Anybody_ else would have been preferable, although encountering nobody at all would have been best. For what would have happened if Sirius, James and Peter hadn't arrived at that moment?

Remus had been taking more precautions during the full moon than he had when he was younger. Yet, he had never expected anybody—especially Narcissa Black—to actually follow him. Certainly the situation with Severus Snape a few years back had alerted him of potential dangers, but that was nothing compared to this. He had never expected anybody to follow him without being provoked, as Snape had.

This was what happened when he got too close to anybody. He would have to distance himself from Narcissa in the future. Not that she would want anything to do with him after tonight. But at least he could learn from his experience. No matter what his feelings were for her, it was necessary to ignore them for her safety. Even though he hated it and didn't know how he would handle the insanity of being away from her.

His vision fell on his face, reflected in a mirror in front of him. He could see himself, a pitiful creature. He hated the way he looked; in fact, he hated everything about this form of him. And he was beginning to hate the human part of him for actually thinking that he could pretend to be a normal person. He would never be that. He was different from everyone else, no matter what his friends let him believe, and he shouldn't even be attempting to associate with other, ordinary human beings.

Remus took one last glance in the mirror, then smacked his fist into it as hard as he could. To his satisfaction, it broke into hundreds of tiny shards. Drops of blood poured down his arm, his fingers wet with fresh blood. The pain from his wounds was nothing in comparison to what he felt inside. Remus howled once again. He wished he was dead.


	4. Chapter 4

**By the Light of the Moon: Chapter 4**

Narcissa sighed, for what seemed like the fiftieth time in the past ten minutes. It had been a week and a half since she had arrived home from Hogwarts and she found herself wishing that she was back there. Most of the students relished the winter holidays, but each day to her was long and monotonous. Going to class would have been a welcome diversion. The only things that gave her pleasure here were the little talks with her mother.

Until this year, nothing at Hogwarts had been worth looking forward to. Hell, nothing in her life had even been enjoyable. But, ever since she got to know Remus, found out what type of person he was… well, everything had become more bearable. She realized that she had begun to like him romantically. But now…

She hadn't spoken to him since that night, nor had she talked to Sirius. She had woken up in the Hospital Wing with a vague memory of being carried there by a pair of strong arms, which she was fairly certain had belonged to Sirius. However, her recollection of the events that had transpired prior to that was anything but vague. The face of Remus Lupin's werewolf form still haunted her nightmares.

She didn't know what to think. He was avoiding her; that had been obvious enough every time she arrived at the meeting place for their patrols, only to be met by Lily Evans or James Potter. Each one of those days, she had harbored hopes of seeing him and been disappointed. Narcissa wanted to tell him that she didn't care that he was a werewolf, that it didn't matter. Even so, she was unsure whether or not that would be the truth.

That night had scared her in so many different ways. It challenged all of her perceptions of him and made her realize how many things about him she hadn't known. It hurt that so many people other than herself seemed to know that he was a werewolf. Not that he had any reason to confide in her. She wasn't certain why it bothered her so much; there was undoubtedly no explanation for that. The most unsettling thing, however, was the knowledge that that somebody so kind and gentle could become such a monstrous creature.

It wasn't his fault, though. He was a caring and wonderful person who just happened to also be a werewolf. His wolf form only came out once every month. If she could just look past all of that…

Would she be able to do that? Narcissa had been raised in a pureblooded family of the worst kind, one with little tolerance for outsiders. If they couldn't accept Muggles, they certainly wouldn't be accepting of a werewolf. Treating Remus as an equal would go against everything that she had been taught growing up. She realized that the unfairness of her family's principles was revealing itself to her more and more.

But, it wasn't as though Remus would care about her feelings anyway. He probably thought that she was a brainless, nosy, spoiled brat. Oh, why had she followed him that night! His avoidance of her was enough to confirm it; he did not want to see her anymore.

"Narcissa, dear, are you almost ready?" Her mother entered the room.

Narcissa nodded and looked in the mirror once more. Her blonde hair went down her back in curls, and her dark blue dress robes brought out the brilliance of her eyes. She had taken extra care with her appearance today, for her parents' sake. Tonight was Uncle Alphard's Christmas party, after all, and it was expected that she look gorgeous.

She frowned. Her role was one that she loathed. Her purpose was nothing more than to sit around looking pretty while charming both men and women alike. Very few people cared about what was beneath her lovely exterior. She was expected to be submissive, but still able to make idle chatter. Trivialities such as those would make her a true lady in the eye of society.

"You look beautiful, sweetheart," her mother gushed.

"Thanks, Mum, so do you. One would hardly believe we were mother and daughter." Narcissa attempted to smile. Not only was it true, but she knew that was exactly what her mother wanted to hear. This was a skill that had been perfected as she grew older, one which caused others to be amazed by her charm. The quality of always knowing exactly what to say, in addition to her beauty and manner, was one of the many reasons she was so accepted by elite society.

Despite the renown of being one of the most beautiful and charming young women in the upper class, she had always felt reluctant about her place. Even the love of her parents didn't make up for that. Perhaps this was because she knew that one wrong choice would have drastic results. Then she would end up like her sister, Andromeda, who had been disowned because of her love for a Muggleborn man.

Her mother gave her a small hug, which made Narcissa smile. No matter what, Mum would always love her; nothing could change that. She knew that her mother still loved Andromeda, despite Father's control over her. However, being unable to speak with her mother would be unbearable.

"Lucius Malfoy will be there, darling. He is quite taken with you and I believe that he'll eventually propose to you." She had a twinkle in her eye. Narcissa grimaced. At least somebody was happy about Lucius's attentions towards her. "I hope that you will give him the same regard that he treats you with."

Narcissa attempted to hide her frown. What could she do? She wanted her parents to be happy with her and if she revealed her true feelings, it would only serve to alienate herself from them.

"Yes, Mother, of course I will." Her mother left the room, leaving her feeling more isolated then ever. She had a long night ahead of her.

* * *

"Come on, Moony, it'll be fun," Sirius said. "I don't want to go unless all three of you come." 

Remus frowned. "You know that I don't have any appropriate dress robes," he told Sirius, somewhat embarrassed. His friends knew of his family's financial situation, but he was still humiliated by it.

"I already told you, I'll let you borrow a set. I have several that my parents gave me." After a pause, Sirius spoke. "Please, Remus? I'm only going because my uncle practically begged me, and I need as much support as possible. He told me that he wanted to meet my friends and it won't be the same without you."

"I don't know…"

A mischievous glint formed in Sirius's eyes. "I know that you're worried that she'll be there, but there will be so many people that you probably won't encounter her the entire evening."

"I assure you, I have no idea of whom you are speaking," Remus said coldly, even though he knew exactly who Sirius was talking about. Despite the detached tone of his voice, slight blush formed on his face. _Am I really that transparent?_ he wondered.

He truly did want to see Narcissa Black… but he doubted that the feeling was mutual. She now knew that he was a werewolf—in fact, she had nearly been killed by that form of him. That was the reason that he had been avoiding her, because he did not want to make her feel uncomfortable. It was very possible that she completely despised him. Even if she didn't hate him, she almost certainly cringed at the thought of him. After all, she was a beautiful and rich pureblood who deserved only the best that life had to offer. He was just a low-class, half-blood werewolf, far beneath her.

After a pause, Remus finally looked at Sirius. "Fine, I'll go."

"Great. Wormtail, Prongs!" Sirius yelled as he rushed halfway down the stairs to the Common Room. "Moony agreed to come!" The other two boys ran up the steps excitedly. Remus smiled, hoping—unsuccessfully—to match their enthusiasm. His friends seemed so happy about it; and they had always done so much for him that certainly going to a silly little Christmas party wouldn't be too much for them to ask of him in return.

The four of them quickly dressed up for the party. Remus felt incredibly awkward in the expensive dress robes that Sirius had lent to him. He preferred the older—but more comfortable—clothing that his mother always bought for him from the second-hand robes store.

Remus could feel his stomach turning as the four of them walked to the gates of Hogwarts. He knew that he didn't belong with all of those pureblooded and wealthy wizards. At least Peter, James and Sirius were all relatively well off. But for him, it would be obvious to everybody around him that he was out of place. And he would be absolutely mortified if Narcissa Black saw him there.

No, he was not looking forward to the party at all.

* * *

When they arrived at the largest of the many Black properties in the countryside, Narcissa and her parents were immediately greeted by her Uncle Alphard, her father's elder brother. He was a jolly but sensible man who was liked by nearly everybody he met. Out of all of her relatives, he was one of her favorites. She only wished that her father was more like him. 

"Narcissa, my dear, you look absolutely stunning this evening," a voice said behind her.

"Hello, Lucius," she replied, allowing him to kiss her hand. _He certainly didn't take long to find me once I arrived_, she thought. Narcissa looked around for her parents, hoping for a way out, but realized that they had already left her to socialize.

"Shall we dance?" he asked her, although his voice implied that it was not a request. She nodded, allowing him to lead her to the floor. He began a rather boring monologue about himself—obviously a favorite topic of his—and all of his wonderful qualities. She was somewhat amazed by the amount of friends he had in high places. Bribery could get a person very far with the Ministry. She knew that it was bribery because Lucius didn't have the brains or the drive to advance in the wizarding world without the help of his family's money.

Finally, after an acceptable number of dances, she excused herself. His conversation was grating on her nerves. The man was a self-centered and arrogant prat. She wished that he would just leave her be.

Narcissa walked out of the room, wanting to get away and get a chance to think by herself. Her musings were interrupted when somebody entered the room she was in. "Sirius!" she said in surprise. Because of his estrangement from his family, she hadn't been sure whether or not he would come. She got up to walk over to him. Although their friendship wasn't completely mended, she wanted to try her best to get things back the way they had been seven years earlier.

"Hi, Narcissa," he said neutrally.

Narcissa nearly gasped when James Potter and Peter Pettigrew entered the room. "What are they doing here?" she asked Sirius curiously. Before he could answer, the fourth member of their group walked in. She found herself face to face with Remus Lupin.

"Remus," she said, shocked, trying to ignore the way his appearance affected her. It was hard, though, with the warmth that was creeping up on her cheeks. How ridiculous of her to blush like a child at the sight of him!

"Narcissa." She wasn't sure if she imagined it, but he almost seemed nervous to see her too.

_Of course he's nervous_, she thought, cursing herself for her stupidity. He was worried about seeing her because of what had happened on the night of the full moon, not for the same reasons.

"Excuse me." He quickly rushed away, leaving his three friends staring after him in awe. Narcissa's cheeks grew warmer, and she stared after Remus for a few seconds, until she saw Lucius Malfoy approaching her. Great, just what she needed.

* * *

Sirius was relatively amused by the scene that had transpired before him. Remus and Narcissa had been acting like children. It had been obvious to him that Remus fancied Narcissa, but it wasn't until now that he realized that the affection wasn't only one-sided. However, she seemed to be with Lucius Malfoy quite often. He had to find out what was going on. 

James and Peter walked behind him as he covertly watched Malfoy speaking with Narcissa. She looked bored and unhappy. Sirius moved a little closer in the attempt to hear their conversation. Nobody paid any attention to the three young men in the crowd; all were too absorbed in their own discussions.

"…and I'm certain that some of the people present are not completely pureblooded. They are definitely _not_ members of elite wizarding society; I would know them if they were. Unless, perhaps, they are nouveau riche, but I—and I am sure you agree—would never wish to associate with people of _that_ status. The exclusivity of these gatherings leaves much to be desired," Malfoy was saying snootily.

_What a bastard_, Sirius thought.

Narcissa just nodded. "Lucius, can you please bring me some more to drink?" she asked sweetly, giving him a smile that seemed to win him over immediately. Malfoy obeyed and walked away. Sirius smirked. The relief on Narcissa's face was obvious.

Sirius walked away, followed by his comrades. "Peter, James, are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"I'm thinking that this would be a perfect time for a prank. And we just found our target," James replied with an impish smile on his face.

The trio watched as Malfoy began walking with two glasses of champagne in his hands.

_"Prolaborius!"_ Sirius whispered, pointing his wand at a man in front of Malfoy. The man's legs buckled as he fell straight into Malfoy, the contents of his two glasses spilling all over him. The three boys couldn't contain their laughter as a soaking wet Malfoy began yelling obscenities at the poor man. Then he stalked off into the hallway.

"You know, I didn't used to like Narcissa Black, but I found myself disliking her less as I got to know her. What do you say we do her a favor?" James asked, his inquiry met with nods from his two friends. None of them mentioned that it would also be beneficial to Remus, wherever he might be at the moment. The three followed Malfoy into a deserted hallway, all of them laughing inwardly at how easy he was making it on them.

_"Stupefy!" _James said. Then they quickly levitated the unconscious body of Lucius Malfoy into a nearby closet, putting a spell on the door to not allow anybody in or out until midnight that evening, three hours later. Malfoy certainly deserved it, and it was a service to all of the guests at the party.

* * *

Narcissa tapped her foot impatiently. She had promised to spend the evening with that conceited, insufferable man, and she had been planning to do it, even though he irritated her to no end. So where was he? 

"This is ridiculous," she murmured under her breath, leaving the place where she had been waiting for Lucius. He had left to get a drink for her fifteen minutes earlier and had yet to return. Most likely he had found a more receptive conversation partner, who actually would care about his boastings. Or at least would pretend to. Narcissa had hoped that by not concealing her annoyance at his bragging, he would get a clue. Maybe he had?

She walked out onto the terrace, hoping to get some peace. A charm had been placed on it to prevent the snow outside from getting in. This was in addition to a warming charm, which made it a pleasant place to be.

She didn't see the figure in the shadows until she was nearly upon him.

"Narcissa," Remus said with surprise. He backed a few steps away from her. She could feel her heart sinking when he did that. Was she really so despicable that he didn't want to be anywhere near her? "I should go." He turned and began to walk towards the house.

She felt a lump form in her throat as he began to walk away. "I'm sorry, Remus," she said after him.

He stopped, and then turned around. "What are you apologizing for?" he asked softly. She stared at him for a few seconds. Wasn't it obvious?

"I should have never followed you that night! I wish I hadn't. You obviously don't feel comfortable with me knowing about it." Tears began filling her eyes.

He walked towards her. "You would have realized it eventually. It was only a matter of time before you noticed that I was always absent on the nights of the full moon, that I was always exhausted during the days following it. I only wish that you had found out in a different manner."

The two of them glanced at each other for a few moments, deep in thought.

"What is it like?" she whispered.

"Excuse me?"

"The transformation… is it painful?"

He stayed silent for a few moments and looked away. Then he looked back into her eyes. "The first few times it hurt a lot, but then I got accustomed to the physical changes. But the part of it that is the worst is my state of mind. I become a completely different being, in both body and mind." He paused, and swallowed. "That night when you were there, I felt like an observer, nothing more. I couldn't control my thoughts. I knew what was happening deep inside of me, but the beast took over. I could feel it, moving me forward, telling me to attack. All rational parts of my mind were screaming to stop, but it just didn't happen."

Narcissa shivered.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I know how horrible it was for you. I shouldn't have brought it up." He looked down, ready to walk away.

She grabbed his arm before he could, causing him to stop in his tracks. "No!" She looked straight into his eyes, suddenly aware of his closeness to her. Her heart rate quickened. "It's horrible, but only because of what you have to go through. You don't deserve it—"

"It's my own fault. If I hadn't been so careless on that night fourteen years ago, I would have never become a werewolf in the first place."

"You were just a child! You're such a gentle and kind person. It's not fair that you have to go through this every month," she cried.

He gazed at her for a few seconds. When she looked into his eyes, she nearly gasped at the intensity of his expression, one that she had never seen on his face before. Her heart was hammering in her chest as she stood on her tiptoes, pressing her lips against his.

The warmth only lasted an instant, as he pulled back immediately.

A sinking feeling settled in her chest. Oh lord, why had she done that? It had been so impulsive, so unlike her. She had practically thrown herself at him. It was clear that her attentions were unwelcome.

"I'm so sorry, Remus." Her face turned red and tears of humiliation threatened to spill out. "I… I shouldn't have—"

He silenced her with another kiss, much to her surprise. She threaded her arms around his neck, and could feel his hands on her back, pulling her closer to him. In his arms, she felt so safe and carefree. All of her worries were pushed to the back of her mind, for none of them mattered right now.

Remus' kiss became more urgent, and she, although surprised at first by his forwardness, eagerly kissed him back. None of the other kisses she had ever experienced felt this right, nor had they possessed this much fire. Remus began running his fingers through her long, wavy hair, sending chills of pleasure down her spine. She hoped that he would never stop, never move away from her.

Eventually he pulled away, much to her disappointment. "I apologize, Narcissa," he told her, nearly out of breath. "If there's one quality above all others that I prize, it's self-control. And I'm afraid that I lost mine for a few moments. Please forgive me for it."

"Don't regret it," she told him with a lump in her throat. "Please… I don't think that I would be able to bear that." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to stop herself from being reduced to a pathetic, sniveling state. She was always so composed—what was her problem?

"Of course I don't! But I know that it shouldn't have happened. I'm a werewolf, and you deserve nothing other than the richest and most pureblooded wizard around. You know that as well as I do." A bitter look formed on his face. "Lucius Malfoy is the type of man you need. I'm just a nobody."

"Remus, I like _you_. Not Malfoy, or any of those other rich, arrogant purebloods. Just you."

"What can possibly attract you to somebody like me? Look at you; you're one of the prettiest girls in the wizarding world, you're rich, pureblooded, and intelligent. Compared to that… well, I'm nothing."

"How can you be so cruel to yourself? You are the most wonderful person I have ever met! The times I spend with you are the only bright spots in my life; you're the only person who makes me smile. I don't think that I've encountered anybody as kind and caring as you are. And no other person has ever caused me to feel this way." She swallowed, amazed at her confession. She went on, talking softer. "As much as it scares me when you become a werewolf, it's a part of you that cannot be changed. And I am willing to accept it." She put her hand against his cheek. Although she had expected him to push her away, he grabbed her hand and stroked it tenderly as he closed his eyes and leaned into her touch.

"Thank you, Narcissa," he whispered, as he turned his head to press his lips to hers once again.


	5. Chapter 5

**By the Light of the Moon: Chapter 5**

The next few months were the happiest of Narcissa's life. Her relationship with Remus had blossomed, and she was beginning to believe that she was falling in love with him. Could that be what this feeling was? She didn't know; it was something she had never before experienced.

Currently, the two of them were studying in the Room of Requirement. Narcissa was lying on her stomach on a lavish sofa with a book in front of her, and Remus sat on the ground next to her, his head near hers. She hadn't known about this room until meeting Remus. He and his friends had discovered this room several years earlier. According to Remus, there were only four other people besides the two of them that knew about the room, which meant that they would not be disturbed. That was a relief, for they had yet to make their relationship public.

How would Narcissa tell her parents about Remus? They expected her to marry Lucius Malfoy, or somebody of equal stature and breeding. Her father wouldn't care about Remus's intelligence, his compassionate personality, or even the fact that his daughter was falling in love with him. All he would be concerned about would be Remus's background. Narcissa had seen what had happened to Andromeda when she fell in love with a Muggle. In her Cepheus Black's opinion, a halfblood wouldn't be any different.

For now, she would just enjoy the time she spent with Remus.

Until recently, Remus had kept her at arm's length, too afraid to get too close to anybody. However, he had slowly been opening up to her. Their kisses became more passionate, they spent more time together, and she was beginning to feel that the two of them truly had a future together.

At the moment, he was playing her hair. "What are you doing?" she asked him, sitting up.

"Studying for our Potions test, of course," he told her. The innocent look in her eyes made her laugh, something she nearly never did with anybody but him.

"You're distracting me, that's what you're doing," she told him. He had the same expression on his face. She giggled. "Do you give that look to teachers when they catch you breaking the rules?"

He grinned mischievously. "It's my job to make sure we don't get caught."

Narcissa rolled her eyes. "And I used to think you were such a nice boy. But you're absolutely incorrigible."

"And you like me that way." He picked up her book and set it down on the table as he sat down next to her. Then he pulled her lips to his. His mouth tasted sweet against hers.

She kissed him back eagerly for a few moments, but then pulled back. "I have to study."

"We both know that you can pass the Potions test with your eyes closed and both hands tied behind your back."

Narcissa smirked, then pulled him close again. Studying for Potions wasn't that important, and she knew that the test would be easy since it was in her favorite subject.

He lowered her onto the sofa, his body pressed against hers. She closed her eyes as his fingers ran over her breasts. He began undoing the tie around her neck. "Do you want me to stop?" he asked.

"No," Narcissa told him breathlessly, her heart nearly pounding out of her chest. His fingers trembled as he unbuttoned her blouse. She sighed in pleasure as his hands caressed her skin.

He suddenly stopped. "There's somebody coming down the hall in this direction."

Narcissa sat up and quickly fixed her blouse. "You really do have good hearing," she told Remus as she heard voices outside the door. She was disappointed that he had been forced to stop from going any further.

He gave her a sheepish grin and handed her the book she had been previously holding. He picked up his own book, then sat by her side with his arm around her.

The door opened, admitting Sirius and Peter. Cissy, Moony," Sirius said with a nod.

"What do you want, Sirius?" she asked without bothering to hide her irritation.

"How nice to be greeted so pleasantly," he said sarcastically. "You're reading that book upside down, Remus." Peter snickered.

Narcissa stuck her tongue out, a gesture that was reminiscent of her childhood with Sirius. The two of them had gone back to being on somewhat amicable terms over the past few months. Nothing like they had been in their younger days, but she hoped that they would become friends again with time.

"I see you're being charming as always, my dear cousin," he said. "Well, at least some people seem to find you charming." He gave a pointed look at Remus who still had a casual arm draped around her.

"Will you two stop bickering?" The voice came from an unexpected source, Peter Pettigrew. He looked extremely uncomfortable.

"We're not _bickering_. I'm just having a friendly conversation with my cousin, who—although quite lovely—is a major troublemaker."

Narcissa snorted.

Remus cut in. "As much as I would like to continue to listen to this sophomoric banter, I have a feeling the two of you came here for a reason other than to disrupt our studying."

A grim look formed on Sirius's face. "It's not particularly good news, I'm afraid, and it involves both of you. Somebody found out that the two of you were together and suddenly the entire school knows. It's only a matter of time before your father hears about it."

Narcissa closed her eyes and nodded solemnly. Some of her Slytherin classmates—specifically those who disliked her—would probably go and blab to their parents that Narcissa Black was dating a halfblooded Gryffindor. Eventually, one of her father's peers would mention it to him. "Well, he'll just have to learn to deal with it."

"You told me that you've always been his favorite, right?" Remus asked her. She nodded. "Maybe because of that he'll respect your feelings."

"You obviously don't know her father," Sirius mumbled. The hopeful look on Remus's face disappeared.

"Sirius!" Narcissa said reproachfully. "He's not that bad," she said unconvincingly. "Hopefully when he meets Remus…"

She sighed instead of finishing her sentence.

"Don't the two of you have somewhere else to be?" Remus asked Peter and Sirius. A relieved Peter and an annoyed Sirius left the room.

She was grateful to be alone with Remus again.

"You okay?" he asked, circling her with his arms. She nodded and leaned into him. Being with him like this felt so right to her, no matter what anybody else thought.

"It was going to happen sooner or later. And we can't keep this a secret forever," he told her.

"You're right, of course. I'm sorry that I didn't want anybody to know about our relationship. It was unfair to you," she cried.

"I understand why, though," he said giving her forehead a quick kiss.

Tears began falling. "You're so wonderful, Remus." She snuggled closer to him.

"I try," he told her with a lopsided grin. His smile faded. "Unfortunately, I doubt that your family will agree."

"Don't worry about them. My mother will like you, and my father is nearly impossible to please, so he would hate anybody I brought home."

"Except for Lucius Malfoy." Remus sounded absolutely bitter.

"The only thing that Lucius Malfoy has in his favor is his money and his blood, neither of which he had to work to get. You're much better than him. He is an absolute prat, in addition to being one of the stupidest men in the Wizarding World," Narcissa told him, annoyed at the turn the conversation had taken. Thankfully she had managed to get out of any of those horrid dates that her father encouraged with Malfoy over the past few months. Usually she would tell Lucius that she was too busy with her schoolwork to go out. She had even attempted to ignore his requests completely, choosing to let his letters go unanswered. He kept sending her letters through the owl post, however, which suggested that he hadn't taken her hints.

"I think that you're underestimating Lucius Malfoy's intelligence," Remus told her.

"You've never met him. I have, and he's an idiot," she said back to him.

"I suppose you're right…" He frowned thoughtfully, but quickly changed the subject. "I don't suppose that you can tell me about what your mother is like?"

"Oh, Mum's great. She's very nice and can get along with nearly anybody. She'll love you when she meets you." Narcissa was grateful to talk about the parent whose love for her wasn't being constantly called into question. Because of that, she was nearly able to forget her distress at trying to figure out how to tell her father that her boyfriend was a halfblood werewolf from a poor family.

The next day one of the letters she had expected arrived, from her mother. She had been anticipating a Howler from her father, but was surprised that he had sent nothing of the sort. Her mother seemed disappointed that Narcissa hadn't mentioned that she had a steady boyfriend in her last letter. Her parents apparently had heard through one of her father's "colleagues". Narcissa wondered who person had been, and knew that whoever it was had probably been filled with glee when he told Cepheus Black that his daughter was dating a halfblood. Her father did not seem to have actual friends, only associates who, like him, were into dark magic. Some of them were actual Death Eaters; others, like her father, refused to get their hands dirty. She truly wanted to believe that her father was a good person. He had doted on her when she was a child and still did—when she satisfied his expectations. She was his favorite daughter. But did he care if she was actually happy? Narcissa didn't know.

However, one thing that she knew about her father was that he wasn't nearly as bad as the other Death Eaters. She believed that he would never use Unforgivable curses on Muggles or anything equally cruel. Although he sometimes supported people who did things like that, he would never stoop that low. At least as far as she knew.

Her mother's letter had only briefly mentioned her father—to inform her that he was in good health—and Narcissa therefore had no clue what might be going through his mind. She knew that she would have to be careful, especially when it came to Remus. Her father was the most devious person she had ever met, and when he was displeased with somebody, they would face distasteful consequences. She didn't want him to be against her.

Narcissa's mind was occupied for the rest of the day until she met with Remus later that night when the two of them had prefect patrols again. It always gave them a nice chance to talk, their conversation only occasionally being interrupted to take points away from students caught out of their dormitories.

During one of their moments alone, Remus turned to her. "I spoke to my mother last night."

"Oh?"

He smiled. "I told her about you. She and my father are anxious to meet you. They wanted to know if you would like to visit over the Easter holidays."

Narcissa paused for a few seconds. She didn't know what to think about it. Her father was well known in the wizarding world, and many people hated her because of him. She didn't want Remus's parents to feel that way about her. But they were important to Remus and he really did want them to meet each other. "It's okay if you don't want to," Remus told her quickly.

"No, I'd love to," she said with a hint of nervousness in her voice. What would his parents think of her? What if they thought that she was just a spoiled brat? She was usually shy around strangers, giving them the impression that she was unfriendly and snobbish.

"Really?"

She nodded and smiled. "I'm looking forward to it already."

* * *

"Remus, we're almost there. You look so cute when you're asleep." Narcissa told him as she kissed him on the cheek. He gave her a groggy smile. "Wake up, silly. You've been napping since we left Hogsmeade."

"Well, it was a full moon the night before last…"

"Drink this—it'll make you feel better." She handed him a vial. He looked at it questioningly. "It's something I concocted while you were in the Shrieking Shack. I was bored and knew that you would probably not want to feel ill when you saw your parents. I would have given it to you sooner, but I wanted to wait twenty four hours after testing it myself to make sure it didn't have any side effects."

"Wouldn't it have been better for you to study for N.E.W.T.s than to do this?"

"No," she said kissing him again. He kissed her back briefly, then gulped down the liquid. After a few minutes, he began to feel less tired.

"You know, you're really talented at making potions. Did you create this one yourself?" She nodded, blushing. "You should go into a Potions career after Hogwarts."

"And you should become an Auror," she told him with a smile.

He nodded. "I hope so."

At that moment, the train began to slow. The two of them held hands as they left the train, one of the advantages of not having to keep their relationship a secret anymore.

He saw his parents and began to realize how nervous Narcissa was looking. "Relax," he told her, squeezing her hand. "They'll love you." She gave him an uncertain smile.

"Mum, Dad," he said, greeting them. "I'd like you to meet Narcissa."

"Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Lupin," she said to them. "How nice to finally meet you." She was surprisingly poised, despite the nervousness that had been apparent in her expression a few moments earlier. He supposed that it was her upbringing, which had taught her how to act in every situation.

"Please, call us by our first names, dear. I'm Clara and this is Edward," his mother told her. One of Narcissa's beautiful smiles graced her face.

"Tell me, are you any relation to Cassiopeia Black? I saw her in the society page of the Daily Prophet and she had the loveliest new robes from Paris!" his mother exclaimed. Remus rolled his eyes. He wondered if she noticed the shabby appearance of his parents. Possibly, but she was too considerate to pay any mind to it. She never made mention of his secondhand robes, even though everything that she wore seemed to be made of silk, cashmere, or whatever other expensive fabrics were popular with rich purebloods.

"Yes, she's my mum." Narcissa smiled. "The two of you would probably get along well with each other."

His mother exclaimed excitedly. "Oh? I'd be very interested in meeting her."

"Be careful, Narcissa," Remus's dad said jokingly. "Now that the subject of fashion has been brought up, she'll talk your ear off if you don't stop her."

"Stop tormenting me, Edward!" She turned towards Narcissa. "He sometimes forgets that I know more hexes than he and Remus combined."

"That's why I always try to stay on your good side," his father said, putting his arm around his mother.

The four of them chatted for a few minutes (mainly his parents asking Narcissa questions), then his father suggested they go home. His parents first apparated. Remus held Narcissa for a few seconds. "Your parents are so different than mine," she told him softly. "I feel kind of jealous. My father never shows my mother any kind of affection like that." He just looked at her in surprise. _She_ was envious of _him_?

H didn't say anything in response to that. Instead, he held her close as they apparated together to his parent's house on the outskirts of London.

Remus began to feel uneasy and embarrassed. He had seen her uncle's mansion; his entire house could fit into the ballroom alone. However, she didn't say anything or change her demeanor at all, much to his relief.

He spent most of his time thinking that she was way out of his league. His family was dirt poor, he was a werewolf, a halfblood… and she was one of the richest girls in the wizarding world. Did he truly deserve somebody like her? Probably not.

Yet here she was visiting his parents, while their relationship only got more serious everyday. It seemed too good to be true.

The next few days were spent with his mother and father, both of whom seemed to like Narcissa a lot. The last day that he and Narcissa were there, his parents treated them to dinner in Diagon Alley. After dinner was finished, they walked through the alley, looking at the shops. Remus was looking in the window of the Magical Menagerie when he felt Narcissa, who was holding his hand, tense up beside him.

"My aunt's here," she told him. She let go of his hand for a moment. "Aunt Carina!"

A dark haired woman turned to look at her. He realized with horror that it was Sirius's mother. "Narcissa, what a surprise to see you here! How _are_ you? And what brings you here to this vile alleyway? I absolutely despise it, even though I end up being forced to come here every few weeks because of some task or another that I simply cannot trust with anybody else. Are you here with your parents?" She paused, finally giving Narcissa a chance to get a word in.

"No, I'm here with my boyfriend and his parents."

"Oh, with Lucius? I haven't seen the Malfoys in ages!" Remus felt his face turn bright red and could see Narcissa looking both embarrassed and angry. He was standing right next to her!

"Actually," Narcissa said in a curt voice, "I have never had any interest in Lucius Malfoy nor will I ever." She took Remus's arm tightly. "This is my boyfriend, Remus Lupin."

Carina Black turned toward him with narrowed eyes. She didn't say anything, instead looking back at Narcissa. "I have to be going," she said in a cold voice and hurried away.

The two of them stared after her in shock. After a few speechless moments, Narcissa put her arm around his waist. "I apologize for that. I know how dreadful she is, but she still manages to amaze me sometimes." Tears formed in her eyes. Remus pulled her close. His parents gave him a questioning look.

"We're going to apparate back home." He and Narcissa disappeared. A few seconds later, the two of them were in front of his house. "Are you alright?"

"I'm so sorry, Remus. Some of the people in my family are so horrible."

"Don't worry about it." He gave her a quick kiss on the lips. "That wasn't the first time I met Sirius's mother, and you certainly don't have to apologize for her."

She looked up into his eyes. "I love you, Remus."

"I love you too, Narcissa," he said back to her. It was the first time they had said it to each other. He closed his eyes as their lips met in a passionate kiss. They held each other for a long time, neither wanting to be the first to let go.

* * *

One of the Hogsmeade trips occurred a few weeks later. They went together, and it was the first time Remus had ever gone there with a date. About midway through the trip, Remus and Narcissa decided to split up for an hour to go off on their own. He was walking in the direction of the Three Broomsticks to meet his friends for a Butterbeer. He probably should have been paying attention to his surroundings, and also should not have taken the shortcut through the deserted alleyway.

Without warning, he felt an arm grab him. Remus pulled away and nearly succeeded… until he heard a voice behind him.

_"Stupefy." _

Remus blacked out.

When he came to, he was no longer outdoors. It took him a few seconds to realize where he was. The Shrieking Shack.

"I see that you are familiar with this place," a voice said, still unrecognizable to him. Remus stood up in alarm, hunting for his wand. "I've taken your wand so that you can't try anything." A figure stepped into the light, wand pointed at Remus. He looked about the age of Remus's father, but had an aristocratic air to him. The man looked vaguely familiar, but Remus couldn't place him.

"Who are you?" Remus asked.

"You haven't figured it out yet? I know _exactly_ who _you_ are," the man told him, only confusing Remus more. "Remus Lupin, the son of one of the poorest men in Wizarding Britain and a common Mudblood. If that isn't enough, you're also a _werewolf_." He spat out the last word. Remus cringed. "Yet for some reason, you think that you have the right to tarnish the good name of the Black family."

"You're Cepheus Black!" Remus said in shock. He was being held at wandpoint by one of the most powerful dark wizards in Britain, who also happened to be girlfriend's father.

"What a perceptive little halfblood you are," he said sarcastically.

"What do you want?" Remus demanded, more forcibly than he would have if he was thinking straight.

"You obviously have no manners; otherwise you would _know_ that somebody in my position deserves respect." Black gave him a malicious glare. "But since you asked, I'm here to reason with you. Promise me that you'll break it off with my daughter."

"No!" Remus told him incredulously. "I'm in love with her, and if you could be bothered to pay attention to her feelings at all, you would notice that she feels the same for me."

"How dare you suggest that?" Black hissed at him. "My youngest daughter is the most important person in the world to me. The reason I'm here is because her wellbeing matters so much to me."

"So you're kidnapping her boyfriend? What a way to show you care," Remus said with dry sarcasm.

"You little brat! You will pay for your impertinence, boy. _Crucio!_"

Remus gasped as throbbing pain seared through his body. He had heard of the Cruciatus Curse before, but had never met anybody that had undergone it. It felt as though thousands of burning knives were piercing his flesh.

He let out a breath that he hadn't realized he had been holding as Black released him from the curse. "That's just the beginning unless you concede right now. Promise me you'll give up on my daughter." Remus closed his eyes, unable to speak properly. The pain was too severe. "Well?"

Remus opened his mouth and had to force the word out. "Never."

_"Crucio!"_

The pain came again, although this time not as relentless. He doubted that this was because the curse had become more bearable. Rather, his body had probably begun to numb. Soon he would probably be unconscious. He wasn't sure if that would be better or worse. Better probably, since any efforts to fight the curse were completely futile.

Cepheus stopped the curse again. "Change your mind yet?" he taunted.

"No," Remus whispered.

"What was that?" Black appeared to be enjoying his pain.

"NO!"

_"Crucio!"_

He closed his eyes, his mind focusing on Narcissa. It took only a few seconds more before everything went black.


	6. Chapter 6

**By the Light of the Moon: Chapter 6**

Narcissa sighed and looked at her watch again, the third time in five minutes. What had happened to Remus? He was supposed to meet her fifteen minutes earlier. Perhaps he had gotten caught up in conversation with his friends? It was doubtful; Remus was almost never late.

The Three Broomsticks was crowded and noisy when she arrived there. She waved at a few Slytherin girls. "Care to join us, Narcissa?" Andrew Baddock, one of the biggest jerks in Slytherin, asked her. He and his gang of friends were leering at her. Narcissa shook her head and walked past them. He yelled something back at her that she didn't pay attention to. She had spotted Sirius, James Potter, and Peter Pettigrew. Remus was not with them. Her heart dropped.

Narcissa walked over to their table, which was completely surrounded by other tables of Gryffindors. A few of them glared at her. "Sirius." She came up behind him. "Where's Remus?"

All three boys looked at her, confused. "We thought he was with you," Sirius told her.

"He never showed up to meet us," James said. Narcissa looked at him, shocked for a moment.

"Maybe he got sidetracked," Peter suggested.

"I suppose it's possible," she said skeptically. "I'm going to look for him."

She walked away quickly. "We'll help you!" she heard one of the boys say behind her.

They split up outside and began looking in various shops.

Narcissa began at Madam Puddifoot's, where she had and Remus had parted, and worked her way down the road. He was nowhere to be seen. Her heart sank when she met back up with the boys and Remus was not with him.

"You didn't see him?" she asked frantically. They shook their heads. She glared at Sirius. "If this is your idea of a mean joke—"

"Don't be stupid," he said to her sharply. "You know I wouldn't do something like that to you!"

"You certainly would." Her voice was just as harsh as his.

"But Remus wouldn't." He sighed.

Narcissa looked down and nodded slowly. "Perhaps he returned to Hogwarts," she said with a far away look on her face, unconvinced. She couldn't help feeling that something was very wrong.

"We can go back through the Shrieking Shack," Peter said. "It's much quicker."

"Good thinking," James told him. "We can find him on the Marauder's Map when we get there."

Narcissa shuddered, thinking of the last time she had been there. She hated that place.

The four of them rushed to the Shrieking Shack. Narcissa trailed behind the other three, taking a deep breath before entering. She nearly missed seeing the figure on the ground.

Narcissa gasped. "Remus!" He didn't move. She bent down next to him. "Remus?" Tears formed in her eyes as she brushed his cheek. His skin was so hot it nearly burned her. "Remus!" she sobbed.

His eyes fluttered open. "N-Narcissa?" he said hoarsely. She let out a cry of relief.

"We need to get you to the Hospital Wing. Can you walk?" she asked him. Remus nodded. Sirius, Peter, and James appeared behind her and began to help Remus up. He stumbled and would have fallen if not for the help from his friends.

"Maybe not," he said right before he fainted.

"_Mobilicorpus_," Sirius said, pointing his wand at Remus.

Narcissa took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. It wouldn't do to lose it in front of the three Gryffindors. At least Remus was alive. That was the most important thing.

Nobody spoke during the long walk to the Hospital Wing. Narcissa was certain that they were all wondering the same thing—what had happened to Remus? He felt feverish, but it seemed like more than just a fever.

And why had he been in the Shrieking Shack? There had to be an explanation behind that, one that she had a feeling would not be to her liking.

The Hospital Wing was empty, except for Madam Pomfrey, who was reading a large and ancient book. She looked up in surprise at Remus's body. "Oh, dear. What happened here?"

The mediwitch began examining Remus as the four of them began telling her everything they knew—which wasn't much.

"Will two of you please go and fetch the Headmaster and Professor McGonagall?" Madam Pomfrey asked a few minutes later.

"What's wrong with him?" Narcissa asked worriedly.

Madam Pomfrey paused. "He's been hit with the Cruciatus Curse," she said with a grave expression. Narcissa felt ill and lightheaded.

"How severe is—"

Madam Pomfrey put up a hand to silence Sirius. "I cannot tell yet, but I need all of you to leave. And don't forget to bring Professor McGonagall and Headmaster Dumbledore. Quickly, now."

James and Peter rushed off to get the two professors as Narcissa and Sirius sat down in the corridor.

She began crying uncontrollably. Sirius awkwardly pulled her into his arms and let her sob into his chest. "Don't worry, Cissy. He'll be fine."

"It's all my fault," she whispered through her tears.

"Why do you think that? You didn't do this to him!"

Narcissa silently pulled away from him. Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall were hurrying down the corridor, followed by James Potter and Peter Pettigrew. The two professors disappeared into the door next to them as James and Peter sat. For once, the three boys were silent.

The minutes ticked by slowly. After about two hours, Madam Pomfrey came out.

"He's awake and seems to be doing fine. However, it's too soon to tell if there will be any lasting effects."

"Can we see him?" James asked.

Madam Pomfrey nodded. "But not for long. He needs his rest."

The four of them approached his bed slowly. Narcissa took his hand in hers. "How are you feeling?" she asked gently.

"Much better now that you're here." He grinned weakly at her.

"Who did this to you?" Sirius asked.

Remus shook his head and closed his eyes. The next thing they knew, he was asleep.

"It's time for the four of you to return to your Houses," McGonagall said from the corner where she sat with Dumbledore.

"I'd like to stay here for the night in case he wakes up," Narcissa told them.

"If she gets to stay, we should be able to also," James said. Peter and Sirius nodded in agreement.

Madam Pomfrey glared at them. "None of you will be staying here for the night; it will disturb him."

"I'm not leaving him," Narcissa told her stubbornly.

Dumbledore finally spoke. "It's nearly time for supper; all of you need to eat."

"I'm not hungry." Narcissa realized that she sounded like a spoilt child but she didn't care.

"Your persistence is admirable, Miss Black. However," Madam Pomfrey continued, "the best thing for Mr. Lupin at the moment is peace and quiet so that he can sleep. I will contact you if he awakens and is up to receiving visitors."

Narcissa turned around, displeased with the response. She immediately began plotting in her mind how she would sneak out of her dormitory tonight.

* * *

Remus's slumber was riddled with nightmares. All of them seemed to involve the Cruciatus Curse—being used on him, his friends, or Narcissa. In the last of these, Cepheus Black used the Cruciatus Curse repeatedly on Narcissa while Remus looked on, paralyzed. 

He awoke breathing heavily and trembling in the darkness. Where was he? At Hogwarts? Hopefully not still in the Shrieking Shack.

Warm arms surrounded him. "It's okay, Remus. I'm here for you," Narcissa said softly. He moved closer to her and put his arms around her. His breathing steadied as he closed his eyes. Remus slept peacefully for the remainder of the night.

The next time Remus woke, daylight was streaming into the room. She was gone; he could no longer feel her presence. Remus used his elbows to push himself into a sitting position. It was a slight struggle to do so. White walls, empty beds, and a miscellany of medical equipment surrounded him. The Hospital Wing.

"Oh! I'm happy to see you up, dear," Madam Pomfrey said in a cheerful voice. "How are you feeling? Did you sleep well?"

Remus nodded. At least he had slept well in the second part of the night.

"Would you like something to eat?"

He shrugged. "I want to see Narcissa." He tried to speak loudly and clearly, but his voice came out in a whisper.

"I'm sorry, dear, but Miss Black has classes at the moment. She was up here early in the morning asking about you." Remus frowned. Hadn't she been there in the middle of the night?

"If you'd like, I can send her an owl telling her to come visit you after classes. And also to your friends. They too came by wanting to know how you were faring."

He nodded at her. "Am I going to be all right?" he asked hesitantly.

"You will, as long as you take it easy for the next few days. You're lucky that this didn't happen to you right after the full moon when your body was in an already weakened state. Your body may have a slight tremor, especially in the next few weeks, but that's mild compared the way that Cruciatus affects some."

Madam Pomfrey stepped out of the room and Remus let out the breath he had been holding. He was lucky, at least in a physical sense. His mental state was another story. What would he tell Narcissa? She believed that her father was incapable of harming others and was blind to his faults. It would hurt her deeply to learn the truth.

However, she deserved to know her father's true character. He was no better than any of the other evil and biased pureblooded wizard. Keeping that a secret from Narcissa would be unfair to her.

The only problem now was how he was going to tell her.

The Headmaster walked into the room. After exchanging greetings with Remus, he got straight to the point. "Mr. Lupin, if you don't mind, I'd like you to tell me everything that happened yesterday. Do you know who did this to you?"

The room was silent. Remus did not want to answer.

"Mr. Lupin, I realize that you have been through a terrible ordeal and may not be ready to speak of it yet." Dumbledore's voice was patient and understanding. "I would not even dream of asking you questions so soon after it if not for the severity of the situation. It is quite possible that this is not an isolated incident and that other students will be targeted as you were. Any ideas of who might be behind this will be most helpful."

With a sigh, Remus found himself revealing more than he had planned. "I know exactly who did this and for what reason. Cepheus Black. He believes that a poor halfblood werewolf is unworthy of his daughter," Remus said in a voice beset with bitterness. He looked downward. "Maybe I don't deserve her, but I love her more than Lucius Malfoy or any other man can even imagine."

Dumbledore's facial expression didn't change, but his silence suggested that he was deep in thought. After a few moments, he spoke. "Well, Remus, I believe that you deserve her just as much as she does you. I thank you for telling me about Mr. Black."

One thing was certain—there was no way now for him to avoid telling Narcissa. He spent the next half hour staring at the same place on the wall. He needed rest—that was for sure—but his mind was worrying too much to allow it. He vaguely could hear Madam Pomfrey remarking about something or another. Only when Narcissa entered the room did he change his field of view.

A smile graced her face, making her look even more stunning than usual. "Remus, I'm so happy you're awake. Madam Pomfrey told me that you were doing well." She kissed him quickly on the lips then took his hand and sat in the chair next to him.

"Were you here last night or was that just a good dream?" he asked, avoiding the subject that had been plaguing him.

She nodded. "I came after I was certain Madam Pomfrey had gone for the night and left early in the morning."

He noticed that she looked tired. "Did you get any sleep last night?"

"Enough. I was worried about you." She stroked his cheek, her delicate fingers smooth and warm against his skin. Remus closed his eyes, savoring the sensation for a few moments.

He softly placed his hand over hers, then kissed her palm. "Narcissa, I have something to tell you."

"What is it, Remus?" She asked curiously.

He looked into her eyes and looked away immediately. He couldn't do it. It would cause so much grief and pain for her, when all he wanted to do was to make her happy.

Remus took a deep breath. "Narcissa, the man who did this to me…" Her eyes widened. "…is your father."

Her hand immediately went limp in his and her face turned ashen. She tried to control her voice as she spoke. "I'm sorry, Remus, but I think that you're mistaken. My father is not like that. You must have him confused with somebody else."

He looked her straight in the eye and shook his head. "I know how painful this is for you, Narcissa. I would not have said anything if there was any doubt that it was him."

His heart nearly broke when tears formed in her eyes. "It's not possible!" she cried. Remus tried to reach for her, but she moved away from him.

"Narcissa…"

She rushed out of the room, leaving Remus alone with his despair.

* * *

Her breathing came in gasps as she walked down the corridor. She was uncertain of her destination, only wishing to be as far from the truth as possible. Narcissa ducked into a room as she heard a group of Ravenclaws walking in her direction. She was certain that they would love to see her in one of her weak moments and spread rumors that the Slytherin prefect was going mad. 

She took a few deep breaths and looked around the room she had ended up in. An office that hadn't been used in decades from the looks of it. There was a large desk with several chairs, in addition to a small sofa. In addition, it had the only two things she needed at the moment: a fireplace and Floo powder. Perfect. It never ceased to amaze her how easy it was to leave Hogwarts via the Floo Network.

Narcissa stepped over the hearth and threw a handful of the Floo powder vigorously. "Black Manor!"

She stepped out of the fireplace into one of the large, richly furnished sitting rooms. It was, like everything else in the house, immaculate. For the first time, Narcissa noticed the utter perfection of the furnishings—chairs that were too fancy to sit upon, tables that were only meant to hold decorations, footrests that had never held a single pair of feet. Narcissa fought the urge to break something, to spoil the flawlessness of the room in front of her.

Instead, she stepped out into the hallway, practically grabbing the first House Elf she saw.

"I need to see my father immediately! Where is he?"

The poor thing nearly fainted from fear, but managed to tell her that he was in his study, and was to be disturbed under no circumstances. Narcissa ignored the warning and went straight to the study, throwing open the double doors.

Her father looked up from his desk. "Narcissa, now this is a surprise. I was just getting ready to contact you with excellent news. Lucius Malfoy has made an offer for your hand in marriage!" She glared, briefly wondering how arrogant Malfoy must be to think that she would actually marry him. Her father's good mood faded immediately with the expression on her face. "Why are you not at school?"

"Father, I need to speak to you," she growled.

Cepheus Black stood. "I did not raise you to act like a heathen—barging into rooms, and screaming at people while being rude and disrespectful to your elders. I demand that you return to school immediately. I am a very busy man and have no time to deal with the problems of silly little girls."

She didn't pay attention to him. "Is it true?" she cried. "Did you use the Cruciatus Curse on Remus?"

"How dare you come into my home and make accusations of me? Where have your manners gone? I suppose that your vulgar attitude comes from that halfblooded werewolf too."

Narcissa's hand reached for a small sculpture next to her—a bust of her father—and threw it as hard as she could at the wall behind him. It made a loud noise, but did not break, much to her disappointment. "TELL ME THE TRUTH! You did that to him didn't you!"

"Does it matter if I did? That _creature_ is a halfblood, unworthy of even being in the same room as you. You're a Black, of the noblest pureblooded family in the entire Wizarding World. That filth that you associate with is undeserving of your affections."

"So it _is_ the truth. I thought that you were incapable of harming others, that you would never resort to violence unless absolutely necessary," she fired back at him.

"It _was_ necessary. I only did it because I love you and want to protect you. One day you will be grateful for my actions."

She looked downward, hot tears beginning to run down her cheeks. How could this be the man she had respected so much?

"Narcissa," her father said to her. "I want you to break off your relationship with this young man immediately."

"No! I refuse to."

"If you do not break up with him, I cannot promise that the incident with the Cruciatus Curse will not repeat itself."

Narcissa was horrified. How could he talk about using an Unforgivable Curse so nonchalantly? "I can have you thrown in Azkaban for it," she threatened.

He snorted. "Who would arrest me? One day you'll learn the advantages of being wealthy. Because of my money and power, the law does not apply to me." A gleam formed in his eye. "One day it will be the same way for you, as long as you put this silly love affair behind you. You will be the most powerful witch in the Wizarding World someday if you listen to me. All you have to do is accept Lucius Malfoy's proposal."

"Absolutely not." She turned to leave.

He called after her. "Think about what I said, my dear. Your boyfriend came out of this unscathed, but he may not be so lucky the next time. And don't think of running away with him; it will only be a waste of time."

Narcissa fled from the room, unwilling to spend another moment there. It wasn't until she arrived back at Hogwarts, in the room she had left from, that she stopped.

Sobbing uncontrollably, she sank to the stone covered floor and put her head on her knees. Narcissa, unable to face the rest of the world, spent the remainder of the day in that position, only leaving several hours after supper was over.

The next morning, she skipped her first class to see her father again. He stood when she arrived in his office. She didn't waste time with idle chatter. "Very well, Father. I'll accept Malfoy's proposal on the condition that you and your cohorts never go near Remus again."

Her father gave her a sinister smile. "I knew you would come to your senses, my dear."

* * *

She didn't come back for the rest of the day. Or the next day, or the one after that. In fact, when he left the Hospital Wing ten days later, he hadn't seen her at all. Every one of his notes to her went unanswered. His friends told him that she was going to classes, but that she snapped at anybody who attempted to talk to her. 

Not seeing her had made the recovery process slower. There were a few times when he came close to forgetting the pain that he felt, usually during the brief visits from his three best friends; however, they were still unable to lift his spirits.

He knew that she was avoiding him and it made him absolutely miserable.

Narcissa was not at supper that evening. Remus spent the entire night ignoring the conversation around him and glancing at the Slytherin table forlornly. Finally, he left early, muttering something about studying. He walked slowly toward his dormitory.

"Remus." Narcissa was waiting at the entrance to Gryffindor Tower. He knew what was coming the moment he saw the look on her face. She appeared to be trying to act calm and composed, but was failing at it. "I'm sorry, Remus. I've been wrong about my feelings this entire time. I'm not really in love with you." Her voice choked and tears were forming in her eyes. Hearing her say those words was as painful as enduring the Cruciatus Curse. They were a lie—at least he hoped—but they still hurt. He wanted to say something, anything to get her to stop this from happening.

Then he came to the realization that next time, he might not be the only one Cepheus Black attacked. Would he be cruel enough to harm his own daughter? Remus didn't want to find out. He remained silent.

"Remus, I think that I should tell you before anybody else does… I'm planning to marry Lucius Malfoy."


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note: **Thank you to my three reviewers! I don't usually respond to reviews, but since there are so few (one of the pitfalls of writing in a rare ship), I will:

_Ebonyquill: Thank you for reviewing three times! It is very much appreciated. _

_Jennilyn Maxwell: I agree! Thanks for reading, hope you like this chapter._

_OnyxKnight: Thank you for your review--I agree that a lot of these follow similar patterns. I love happy endings, so I don't think I'll go the unhappiness route. But, I'm going to follow canon as strictly as possible. Let me know what you think of this chapter!_

**By the Light of the Moon: Chapter 7**

The wedding was set to take place in the middle of July, the month after they finished school at Hogwarts. Remus had heard all about it—every gossip column in every newspaper thrived on the union of Narcissa Black and Lucius Malfoy, one of the biggest weddings of recent years in the wizarding world. He didn't know why he immediately turned to the society pages everyday when he opened the _Daily Prophet_. Probably because he would sometimes see pictures of her in there. Even in the ones where she smiled, she didn't seem particularly happy. Remus was torn between feeling relieved about that (because she possibly missed him as much as he missed her) or not. Usually when he saw her forced smiles in the newspaper pictures, he just felt miserable. It was obvious that she wasn't happy.

They no longer spoke to each other but Remus was worried about her. Every time he saw her, she seemed depressed. Dark circles were under her eyes and she looked like she had lost weight. He never even saw her speak to any of the other Slytherins. She would only occasionally attend meals and when she was there remained silent. In classes, she focused only on the lesson at hand.

Seeing her like that made him even more heartbroken than he already was.

A few days before the end of the year, Sirius cornered him in their dorm room, where Remus spent most of his time by himself. "Remus, I need to speak with you." Remus looked up. Sirius continued. "I realize that you're upset, but you have to pull yourself out of this depression. You and Narcissa have broken up and you're not getting back together. Get over it. Acting miserable all the time won't help anything."

Remus looked at Sirius, surprised at his bluntness. "I know, Sirius. You're right, of course." Remus sighed. "I'm just so worried about her! Have you seen Narcissa lately? She looks more miserable than I've ever seen her."

"It's obvious that she still loves you." Remus's heart fluttered. "But she's frantic about your safety, almost obsessed, in fact. She's worried that if anybody sees the two of you speaking to each other, her father will use Avada Kedavra on you." Remus wondered how Sirius knew what Narcissa thought. Had he spoken to her?

"I'm more concerned about what her father will do to _her_."

"As well you should be. One of his daughters already went off and disgraced the family. My uncle would probably go insane if his favorite, Narcissa, tarnished the family's reputation in the same way. He's a dangerous man." Sirius's voice was grim.

Remus sat down on his bed, his head hanging in despair. He sighed, a lump in his throat. "My entire life feels wrong without her. We're doing N.E.W.T.s this week, and I truly don't even care how I do. And the night of the full moon this month was one of the most painful ones ever."

Sirius sat next to him and put his hand on Remus's shoulder. "I know, Remus, and that's why you have to move past this. You can't go on forever in this state."

"I just can't imagine never seeing her smile again."

"Remus…" Sirius didn't get to finish his thought because Peter and James walked into the room.

"Remus, Sirius, Dumbledore wants to see us in his office in ten minutes."

"Oh?" Remus said. He glared at Sirius, then back at James and Peter. "What did the three of you do this time? Did you do something horrible to Severus Snape?"

"Who, us?" James asked innocently. "We never do anything wrong! Especially to our dear friend, Snivellus!" Remus snorted, almost smiling. "Actually, I don't know what it's about. He asked Lily to come along too."

_Interesting_, Remus thought. What could Dumbledore want?

The four of them met Lily in the common room, and then walked to Dumbledore's office together.

"Ah, just who I was waiting for," Dumbledore said as they arrived. "Come in and sit down." His desk had five chairs in front of it instead of the usual two.

"I suppose that you are all wondering what I called you here for. Do not worry, there is nothing wrong." His eyes sparkled. "Quite the contrary, actually."

Dumbledore continued. "Have any of you heard of the Order of the Phoenix?"

They all shook their heads.

Professor Dumbledore chuckled. "No, I suppose you haven't. Information about the Order is not common knowledge. I happen to the organizer of the Order of the Phoenix." All five of them looked at him, interested. His voice became more somber. "As you all know, the wizarding world is not currently the harmonious place that the five of you were born into. Over the past few years, a man who calls himself Lord Voldemort has been gathering followers who he refers to as the Death Eaters. The Death Eaters will stop at nothing to bring Voldemort to power, and do not hesitate to use Unforgivable Curses on innocent people. And this is why I formed the Order of the Phoenix."

Dumbledore took a deep breath. "The Order is a group of people who fight against Voldemort and his followers. There are several dozen of us, but I am always searching for competent and brave wizards and witches to join me." His eyes twinkled as he looked at the five students in front of him. All of them looked back at him, wide-eyed. "I have been watching the five of you closely and would like to invite you all to join me."

All of them were still silent. "I will allow all of you to think it over tonight. Please let me know what you decide." Dumbledore's voice became serious. "And I beg you not to agree to this without thinking it over. Working with the Order puts all of you in a dangerous position. However, you will be able to take an active part in the fight against evil."

They all said good night, too surprised to say much else. Later that evening, all five of them sent notes to Dumbledore saying that they would accept his offer.

* * *

Over the next month, Remus did everything he could to keep his mind off Narcissa. Surprisingly, it was easier than he expected. He spent most of his spare time searching for employment and working with the Order of the Phoenix. Within two weeks, his three best friends had gotten jobs in the Ministry—Sirius in the Department of International Magical Cooperation, James in the Department of Magical Games and Sports, and Peter in the Department for Care and Control of Magical Creatures. He had applied at the same places. None had given him a really good reason for not hiring him, but he knew that it was because of his lycanthropy. 

All employers had access to the Ministry's Werewolf Registry (in addition to the Vampire Registry, something that listed everybody who had ever been put in Azkaban or faced the Wizengamot, and several other registers). With a simple tap of the wand, they could find out anybody who would have special circumstances surrounding them. In other words, it was a way to weed out undesirable workers. Of course, there were Ministry laws that prohibited discrimination against werewolves, with exceptions only in cases where being a werewolf would severely impede one's performance. Not that those laws did a lot of good. Most of the people who refused to hire him had explained that they were not hiring at the moment or that they needed somebody with more experience than he had.

He had also applied for the Auror training the moment he had receive his N.E.W.T.s. Even though he had been distracted that week, he had received four Outstanding scores (in Defense Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, Charms, and Arithmancy) and three Exceeds Expectations (in History of Magic, Muggle Studies, and Potions). Despite that, he had been denied from the training. The rejection letter he received had mentioned his lycanthropy as a deciding factor—it said that he might not be able to perform necessary tasks several days out of the month.

All of his friends were asking around to try to help him find something; in fact, even Dumbledore was helping him. It didn't seem to be working. Remus figured that the only work he would do anytime soon would be for the Order of the Phoenix, which was exciting and enjoyable, but unpaid. Remus was usually sent to investigate possible Death Eater crimes with Alastor Moody, an Auror with outstanding abilities. Moody had more scars than anybody else Remus had ever seen and more experience. Because of Moody, Remus was learning a lot.

Unfortunately, his work with the Order was usually only once or twice a week, plus one meeting every week. And his friends were all very busy. James had married Lily three weeks after leaving Hogwarts, so Remus rarely saw him. Sirius and Peter were, of course, busy working. He saw the two of them about once a week (and also during Order meetings). But, since he saw his friends so infrequently, he had a lot of time to himself. And when he was alone, he thought of Narcissa. He was worried about what her future would be like. And, he was fairly certain that he'd never see her again. The thought of that saddened him. That in addition to his lack of work was enough to make him feel very depressed. The only bright spots were the rare times he spent with his friends and the Order meetings and outings.

One day after a disheartening afternoon of interviewing and being turned down from two separate Ministry jobs, Remus sat in his parent's kitchen, sipping a cup of tea when he heard a tap on the window. It was an owl, which looked very similar to the one that Narcissa used. Remus nearly spilled his tea in surprise. _It can't be_, he thought. But it was. Tied to the owl's leg was a note that read:

_Remus,_

_Please meet me in the Leaky Cauldron at 7 o'clock tonight._

_Yours, _

_Narcissa_

His heart was nearly pounding out of his chest. What could she possibly want?

* * *

Remus arrived at the Leaky Cauldron twenty minutes early. He saw a group of elderly wizards drinking at the bar, a young brown-haired witch in the corner, and two children squirming while a woman he assumed was their mother spoke with Tom, the proprietor. Narcissa wasn't there yet. 

The moment Remus sat down, the brunette witch stood and walked over to him. "You're early," she said.

"Narcissa?"

She gave him a small smile. "Did you forget Transfiguration already? I didn't want to be recognized. I rented a room upstairs so that we could talk in private."

Remus followed her without saying anything, still wondering why in the world she had wanted to see him. On the day before her wedding, no less.

The room was typical of the Leaky Cauldron—a window that overlooked the Muggle part of London, a bed with a brown bedspread, a rickety table and two large armchairs. They each took one of the chairs.

"_Finite_," she whispered, her hair and face returning to normal.

"How have you been, Remus?" Her voice had a strange brightness to it. He didn't answer. "What have you been doing since we finished school?" He wondered why she was even bothering to attempt to make small talk.

He gazed towards the window, unable to look at Narcissa. The shock of seeing her again was too much for him. He felt a flood of anger, sadness, and yearning. When he finally turned in her direction, Remus found her staring at him sadly. He realized that she was shaking and her eyes were bright with tears.

"Narcissa, what—?" Before he could finish his question, she brought a hand to her face and let out a sob. Within a second, he had his arms wrapped around her, his hand stroking her hair.

"I'm sorry that I lied to you, Remus," she cried. "When I said I didn't love you—"

"It's okay, Narcissa. I understand."

"I do love you, Remus, which is why I did it!"  
"I love you too, Narcissa. I always will." She moved off of her chair and he pulled her closer.

"I can't do it, Remus. I can't marry that horrible man."

Remus sighed. He didn't know how to respond to that. _Marry me instead_, was what he wanted to say. But he knew that it wasn't possible. Her family was dangerous. Plus, Lucius Malfoy was now involved. Remus didn't really think that Malfoy would calmly step aside while Remus took his fiancée away from him.

"Is there any way we can…?" She looked desperately hopeful.

"Narcissa, you know as well as I do that it's too dangerous. We both only recently finished our schooling. Neither of us is a match for Malfoy… or you father." Remus closed his eyes and took a deep breath. It seemed that his job was forever to be the voice of reason. He was strongly tempted to tell her to run away with him, but knew that doing so would be suicidal for both of them.

"I know, I know. I wish that there was some way to avoid it," she said.

Remus shook his head. "I do too…"

"But there isn't," she finished with the same words he was thinking. They sat in silence for a few minutes, with him continuing to stroke her hair.

She sat up, looking straight at him. Her body trembled slightly and she swallowed. "Remus… I don't want my first time to be with someone I dislike. And I love you so much. I just want to have something… a memory, for the future."

Surprise hit him like a slap in the face when he realized what she was getting at. It wasn't that he never considered making love to her; only that their relationship seemed too surreal for it to actually happen.

"Narcissa, I—" He stopped. What could he say? That he didn't want to? Well, that was certainly not true. That he didn't want to take advantage of her? It was actually the opposite. _She_ was the one who had contacted him, the one who had brought up the subject in the first place.

And what was so wrong about it? They were two people in love. He pressed his lips to hers, vaguely thinking about her wedding tomorrow. However, as he picked her up and carried her over to the bed, he thought not of Lucius Malfoy, Cepheus Black, or anybody else, only of her.

* * *

Never in even her strangest dreams had Narcissa Black thought that she would lose her virginity in a worn down hotel room. She had always expected that it would happen somewhere pristine and luxurious. But she would not have taken that moment back for all the galleons in the world. She knew that in the years to come, she would look back on this night as the happiest of her life. 

She had considered it days ago, even thinking of a plan to seduce him. Then she had decided against it, for it wouldn't be fair to take advantage of him. Their love was too precious for that. But, those silly words had slipped out and they had done it anyway. And it wasn't anything like the way that she had planned. In her plan, she was supposed to act like a confident and sexually experienced vamp, something that she was obviously not. In the end, she had decided that she would feel wrong even trying to act like that and that it was better to leave Remus alone.

However, something had possessed Narcissa to send him that owl. She could only explain it as an urgent and desperate desire to see him.

Remus stirred in bed next to her and unconsciously put his arm around her. Narcissa smiled at the feeling of having him lying next to her in bed.

Had anybody noticed that she was missing? The clock on the table beside the bed said that it was nearly midnight. She had left to meet Remus in the early evening, telling her mother not to expect her back for supper. Her mother thought that she was spending a night out with her female friends to celebrate her marriage. Narcissa was relieved that she hadn't asked which friends.

Giving Remus a kiss, she closed her eyes, determined not to worry about the next day until it came.

Narcissa awoke around five the next morning, knowing that she should leave soon. Remus awoke when she sat up.

"Are you leaving?" he asked her.

She nodded sadly. "Thank you, Remus, last night was wonderful. I'll never forget it." He sat up and watched her get out of bed. Narcissa began gathering her clothes and pulling them on.

"I love you, Narcissa."

She sat down on the bed next to him. "I know, Remus." Narcissa stroked his chest briefly, then put her arms around him and kissed him on the mouth. "I love you too."

After another quick and final kiss, she walked to the fireplace. "Black Manor!" she said as she tossed a handful of Floo powder. The next thing she knew, she was gone from the room, and would possibly never see him again.

The inside of Black Manor was quiet and still dark, right after sunrise. She had half expected her father to be waiting for her, demanding to know where she was on the morning of her wedding. Narcissa rushed to her room.

Thankfully, she was not caught as she crept into her room and lay down on the bed. Narcissa sighed. She had felt so happy when she was lying in bed next to him. But, that would never happen again. Still, it was enough for her to have one night with him. She would take many happy memories of Remus with her into the future.

Narcissa closed her eyes, sleeping until a House Elf woke her up two hours later. She changed into a different set of robes (it wouldn't do to show up to breakfast in the same clothing she had been wearing the night before) and walked downstairs. She was getting more and more nervous about the wedding.

"Good morning," her father said, his voice brighter than usual. Narcissa felt sick at his good mood. This was a happy day for him—in fact, he was probably the only one who would get any happiness out of this marriage.

"Good morning, darling," her mother said when she arrived at the table. "Did you have a nice evening last night?"

"Yes, very nice, Mum. Thank you for asking."

"And are you excited about today?"

"Oh, yes," Narcissa lied. "I'm so nervous, though!" At least that was the truth. Narcissa was surprised by her ability to make herself sound sincere. She had a feeling it would be useful in the years to come. She ate a few bites, but was unable to stomach anything more.

"Oh, I remember the day of my wedding. I was too nervous to eat a single thing!" Her mother said. "But it was such a beautiful and happy day. Don't you, remember, Cepheus?"

"Ah yes, the alliance of your family and mine was a happy occasion indeed."

"I'm finished," Narcissa finally said. She left the room.

"I'll be by in a few minutes to help you get ready, darling," her mother called after her.

Tears began streaming down her face as she walked down the corridor to her rooms. How could she go through with this? When she got to her rooms, Narcissa sat down at her mirror, taking deep breaths and hoping to stop the crying. She needed to—what if her father came in? After several minutes, she calmed down and washed her face. Her eyes were still red as she sat back down in front of the mirror and began to mindlessly brush her hair.

Her mother walked in and came up behind her. She took the brush from Narcissa and began brushing her hair. "I remember the day that I married your father. I was so afraid that I would not be a suitable wife for him, but in the end everything turned out well because we had you girls." Narcissa wondered if her mother had also mastered the art of pretending to be happy with her life. Maybe she was actually telling the truth. However, Narcissa could not imagine somebody as gentle as her mother being happy with a man who used the Cruciatus Curse. No, it had to be an act. She decided to find out.

"Mother… did you love Father when you decided to marry him?" she asked.

"My dear, I loved your father—and still do—just as much as you love Lucius Malfoy," her mother said.

_Just as much as I love Lucius Malfoy_, Narcissa repeated in her head. _Not at all_. Looking at her mother carefully, she tried to figure out the meaning of the words. Gone was the normal look on Cassiopeia Black's face. It was replaced with a knowing, and utterly Slytherin, expression. Then she realized that her mother had only been pretending for the entirety of her thirty year marriage. _Will I have to do that for my entire life?_ Narcissa wondered to herself. The thought of that panicked her.

"Mum…you mean all these years—?"

Her mother nodded. "The morning of my wedding, I felt the same way that you do today. Like you, I had a different young man that I loved. But, it was not meant to be. Both of my parents were against the match. They wanted a Black for a son-in-law."

"I used to think that Father was such a wonderful man," Narcissa cried. "But he isn't. He actually used an Unforgivable Curse on my boyfriend!"

Tears began flowing freely down her cheeks. Her mother's arms went around her. "I know, sweetheart. It wasn't the first time he used the Cruciatus Curse. You'll find as you get older people with money and power think that they are above the law. Your father and his friends can buy their way out of nearly anything."

"And is Lucius like that?" Narcissa whispered.

"I'm not sure, darling. I have not heard of him doing anything like that. I realize that he may seem arrogant now, but you'll most likely warm up to each other in the future." Narcissa did not say anything. It sounded like there was little hope for her marriage.

Her mother changed the subject. "Did you know that Andromeda will be there?"

Narcissa smiled for the first time she since had awoken. "No, I didn't. Does Father know?"

"Not yet. Hopefully there will be so many people that they will not encounter each other. I contacted her about it and told her that you needed her support."

"Oh Mum, thank you!" Narcissa gave her a hug. "I haven't seen her in a long time. I've written to her recently, but she mentioned nothing about coming to the wedding."

"I just found out myself only a few days ago."

Narcissa felt warm inside. She was going to see her sister. At least there was one bright spot of the day.

Her sister Andromeda arrived about an hour before the wedding began. "Cissy! Mum!" she said as she walked into Narcissa's room, where the two of them were getting ready.

"Andie!" Narcissa said with happiness.

Narcissa's mother dismissed the witches who had been hired to do their hair and makeup with the wave of her hand. Then she walked over to her eldest daughter and took her into her arms, looking reluctant to let go. "Andromeda, I've missed you so much!"

"Mum, I've miss you too!" She finally pried her mother's arms from around her, and then walked over to Narcissa. "And you, dear sister. You look absolutely gorgeous today, Cissy."

"Thank you, Andie." Andromeda threw her arms around Narcissa, who began to cry again.

"Oh, Cissy…"

"I don't love him, Andie. I can't go through with it!" Her voice softened. "But I'm too afraid of what will happen if I don't. Father used the Cruciatus Curse on Remus."

Andromeda looked at her incredulously for a few moments. "Wow, Narcissa, I didn't know it was that bad." She hugged Narcissa again. "He was absolutely furious when I married Ted, but nothing like that…"

"Yes, well, there is nothing we can do about it." Narcissa's voice was bitter. She felt a rush of jealousy towards her older sister. How come _she_ got to marry the person she loved?

Still, she could not be mad at Andromeda.

"Narcissa, if you ever have any difficulties with Lucius, there is always a place for you at our house," Andromeda offered.

"Thank you," Narcissa whispered. Right after she finished wiping her tears, Bellatrix barged into the room. She had a smile on her face, one that disappeared when she saw Andromeda.

"Andie, you're here." She looked at her older sister with narrowed eyes. "How lovely to see you."

"And you, Bella. If you'll excuse me," she said to Narcissa, "I should let you finish getting ready."

"Hello, Mum." Bellatrix hugged her mother. The coldness that had been present a few moments earlier had disappeared. "You and Narcissa both look so pretty!"

"Thank you, Bella, so do you. But I think the bride is the loveliest person here." Her mother gave Narcissa a smile.

"I'm so jealous of you, Narcissa! Lucius Malfoy—what a catch! I'm glad that somebody in our family is marrying him. He's the only man in the Wizarding world who is worthy of a Black. Aside from my husband, of course." She added the last sentence almost as an afterthought.

"I'm happy that you approve, Bella." _Wow_, Narcissa thought, _I'm getting good at pretending to be sincere_.

"Oh, Cissy, I nearly forgot." She handed Narcissa a book with the title, _A Witches Guide to Sexuality-Related Charms and Potions_. "I'm sure your sex life with Lucius will be wonderful, but this will make your life more interesting!"

Bellatrix spent a few more minutes raving about Narcissa's husband-to-be, and finally left. Narcissa was happy to see her go.

After their hair and makeup had been finished, her mother squeezed her hand. "It's time, Narcissa." Narcissa could only nod slowly.

The wedding was everything that she had dreamed of when she was a small child—with the exception of the groom. The grounds of Black Manor were decorated with thousands of fragrant flowers. Her parents had invited hundreds of the wealthiest people in the wizarding world. And her wedding robes were finer than anything she had ever owned, which was saying a lot.

Narcissa was impressed with herself for not bursting into tears at all during the ceremony. It had seemed like all she had been doing for the past few months was crying. From the day her father had used the Cruciatus Curse on Remus, Narcissa had become more vulnerable, and extremely depressed. She wondered if death would be preferable to this state. But, then she thought of her mother and her eldest sister. At least two people were on her side.

A smile stayed on her face throughout the entirety of the ceremony and the reception. But inside she was feeling dread over so many different things. She knew that she and Lucius would have to consummate their marriage that night. And that was just the beginning. Today was the start of a lifetime as Mrs. Lucius Malfoy.


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note:** I've been debating about which direction to take this fic in (I've had so many ideas!), but now I'm certain. The next few chapters are written, and I'll probably have about twenty chapters in the end.

Thank you to my reviewers! I've been working hard on writing this and I love feedback or any acknowledgement at all that people are reading my story, even horribly unconstructive flames (although I'll probably mock you if you use improper grammar in your flame). ) It's hard when you get over a hundred reviews for a one shot (it would probably between 150-200 by now if it hadn't gotten booted for breaking the TOS) but only two reviews a chapter for something that you spend a lot more time on (okay, I know it's only because this is such an unconventional pairing). Lack of reviews is not going to stop me from writing, but I truly cherish all reviews that I get. So I'd love it if you let me know what you think!

Also, if you see any glaring grammatical or spelling errors, let me know. I read each chapter over several times with at least a week or two in between readings, but it's still possible for me to miss something.

**By the Light of the Moon: Chapter 8  
**

Her marriage was not nearly as unpleasant as she expected it to be. Certainly, Narcissa had to deal with the occasional night when Lucius was feeling amorous, but those came only a few times a week at most. Some weeks he came even fewer times. They slept in separate rooms, and he only entered hers on those evenings. She began to believe that Lucius had a woman—or several of them—on the side.

When she had been younger, Narcissa had always thought that she would leave any man who cheated on her in an instant. That had been before she married Lucius Malfoy. She had begun to hope that he would be unfaithful, so that his sexual appetite would be satisfied by somebody besides her.

Narcissa was amazed by how helpful Bella's book had been to her. She had found a way to charm herself from any disgusting diseases that Lucius might have received from any of those harlots he enjoyed being with (and she began using it faithfully). She had also seen a potion that could prevent a man from having sexual urges for at least a day, but hadn't gotten up the nerve to brew it yet.

The thing about her marriage the relieved her most was that Lucius was almost never home. Narcissa had set up a potions lab for herself in the Malfoy Manor basement. Lucius had protested at first, telling her to spend her time doing more seemly activities, but she explained that it was absolutely necessary for her to make her own beauty potions in order to keep her good complexion and perfect hair. He was actually stupid enough to believe her.

She knew that he had no real job and at first had been uncertain what exactly he did all the time. About a month after the wedding, she went into his rooms out of sheer curiosity. It was the first time she had ever entered his chambers. Narcissa walked in tentatively, knowing that she should not be snooping. However, she reasoned, it was her husband and she had a right to know. She began opening cupboards and drawers, careful not to disturb anything. She needed a clue, anything that would give her an idea of what Lucius was doing. After searching for nearly an hour, she found it in one of his drawers. A black mask. Narcissa dropped it when she realized what it was. She had heard about masks of this type, that were worn by Death Eaters. Narcissa then realized with a sinking feeling how her husband passed his time.

She had read about Lord Voldemort's followers, the Death Eaters, in the _Daily Prophet_. Soon after her wedding, she looked in the newspaper to see which pictures they had put of her in the society pages, and had seen the headline—_Marlene McKinnon and Family Brutally Killed by Death Eaters._ She hadn't known McKinnon, only read that she was important in the Ministry. Narcissa had put the murders into the back of her mind… until now. Did Lucius have a hand in the McKinnon murders?

Near the end of August, the Death Eaters killed her last Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Edgar Bones, and several people in his family. That saddened Narcissa. During all of her years at Hogwarts, there had been a different Defense professor every year. He was the best out of the seven of them.

From the day she saw the headline about the death of Professor Bones, she checked the _Daily Prophet_ religiously, worried about who would be killed next. What if somebody she knew was next? What if Remus or Sirius got the stupid Gryffindor idea to fight the Death Eaters? They were certainly no match for Unforgivable Curses.

Narcissa panicked at the idea that the only man she had ever loved and her childhood best friend would fight Voldemort if given the chance.  
She wanted to do something about it… but what? It was almost certain that her husband was one of them, but she never knew what was happening with him. He was almost always gone between breakfast and supper every day and was usually only home in the evening a few days a week. Any of his absences could be Death Eater outings. So, there was nothing she could do. When she married Lucius, she thought that he was nothing more than an arrogant and foolish prat. Now she knew that he was much worse than that.

Oh, why had she not just run away with Remus? They had a chance to be happy, but had lost it because of her. There were ways to hide from her father, and the danger they would have been in was not nearly as bad as the danger that she was in now. She had saved Remus, but at what cost? He probably was not safe right now anyway. At least he would not be safe if he began to do what she expected him to.

He was the bravest person she knew, with strong principles. What would he do if forced to marry a follower of the most evil wizard in centuries? Not what she was doing (nothing), that was certain. Narcissa had always envied his courageousness, knowing that she was just the opposite. Everything scared her. When faced with a horrible situation, she would start crying (which was completely useless) whereas Remus would face it head on. She missed him.

* * *

Four months after Remus finished at Hogwarts, he still had no paying job. His work with the Order of the Phoenix, however, was becoming more and more dangerous. Several Order members had been killed since summer.

Every night, he came home to his worried parents. He told them where he went everyday. One day, he was going with other Order members to attempt to capture several known supporters of Voldemort. Both parents had protested. But he assured them that he would be fine. Thankfully nobody was hurt. He and Moody, in addition to James, Lily, and an Auror named Kingsley Shacklebolt raided the home of three Death Eaters. They captured one of them but two had gotten away. He had a feeling that it wouldn't be his last time going against Death Eaters.

That evening, he arrived home to his crying mother.

"Mum! What is it? Why are you crying?" Had something horrible happened?

"You came home late tonight! This time I thought that we really had lost you, Remus," she said to him.

Remus was relieved that it was nothing else. He sighed and hugged her. She held onto him. Then his father joined them, putting his arms around both his wife and son.

"I know, Mother. It's a dangerous job, but what else can I do? After all that Professor Dumbledore has done for me, working with the Order is the least I can do in return."

"It seems that we cannot get away from the darkness in the world today. Ever since you were a child, Remus, it has always affected our family." His father looked at him, then his mother. "Ever since you were bitten…" He paused for a minute, deep in thought. "Clara, should we tell him now about what happened that day and how it came to be?"

His mother nodded. "He should know how his problems started. Remus, sit down." Confused, Remus complied. His father began talking.

"Remus, when you were only four years old, I was the head of the Werewolf Capture Unit in the Ministry. There was one werewolf in particular, Fenrir Greyback, who was worse than all others. He would bite children at a young age, and then take them away from their families." Remus felt his blood grow cold when he realized where the story was heading. His mother put her arms around him. "Yes, Remus, he was the werewolf who bit you," his father said. Remus began shaking. He had never known who… "We pursued Greyback for years, until I finally caught him. However, he escaped within a week and wanted revenge on me. On the evening of the full moon, he stationed himself outside of our house until the moon rose, and he transformed. Do you remember that night?" Remus shook his head. "I was out, and your mother was in the kitchen. You were alone in your room when that he attacked you. It was only by your mother's quickness that he did not kidnap you."

All these years, he had convinced himself that it was his own fault, that his carelessness was the cause of his lycanthropy. However, now there was nobody to blame except for Fenrir Greyback. He had fully intended to attack Remus that night, and was successful. Remus felt like his head was spinning.

"Since that day, I have been unable to forgive myself, Remus," his father said softly. "Greyback would not have come after you if it had not been for me."

"And if I had not left you alone, even for just a few minutes," his mother cried. "I was cleaning up and then I heard you scream. By the time I got there, he had already bitten you. I threw every curse that I could think of in his direction, but he escaped. He's still at large today." There was a long silence as all three Lupins reflected on it.

"Mum, Dad, it isn't your fault," Remus finally said to them. "It isn't anybody's fault except for Greyback. He was nothing but a horrible monster who harmed children! Please don't blame yourselves! You have been paying for the werewolf bite it ever since it occurred." His voice was bitter.

"That's true, Remus," his mother said. "Your father lost his job soon after that."

Edward Lupin looked down. "Since then, it has been a lot harder for me to earn enough to support this family. The Minister of Magic blamed me for the escape of Fenrir Greyback. Now I have one of the most dull desk jobs in the entire Ministry and can barely make enough to support this family."

"How many children has Greyback bitten?"

"Back when you were a child, approximately fifty. But since then… probably a hundred or more…"

"How can anybody be so cruel, so horrible? That's over a hundred young lives ruined—and more if you count their families."

"Yes, Remus. I have been trying for many years to figure out how anybody can be as heartless and evil as Greyback," his father said. At that moment, Remus realized how old he look, much older than his forty-five years.

"Don't worry, Dad. Someday Greyback will get what he deserves. Someday…"

"Remus, do not try to go after him," Clara Lupin said. "Fenrir Greyback is _dangerous_. Even your father and several others were no match for him."

"Don't worry, Mum," Remus said. "I won't do anything rash."

"Promise me, Remus, that you will not pursue Greyback." Her voice had desperation in it.

"I promise, Mother."

Remus hugged both of them, before he left the room. Remus wanted nothing more than to be alone at the moment to try to clear his mind.

Why was everything so unfair? He hadn't deserved the werewolf bite. His parents hadn't deserved what it had done to the family. He had never had any desire to kill anybody before, but he had a sudden wish for Greyback's death. And he wanted to be the one to cause it.

However, wanting revenge that much was dangerous. He had to put the idea out of his mind, otherwise it would keep growing until it consumed him. In addition, he had made that promise to his mother.

Right now the most important thing (even more than revenge) was for him to help his parents, who were working hard and worrying harder. He couldn't stop the worrying, but maybe he could help them cut down on their long hours of work. Remus needed a job that paid. Desperately. His parents could barely afford to feed themselves. It was unfair for him to freeload off of them any longer.

He decided that any job would suffice, so he began looking one day in Diagon Alley. The wizards and witches who worked at the shops were usually either people with special skills (like Madam Malkin, the seamstress or Ollivander, the wandmaker) and the ones who had been unable to receive any N.E.W.T.s, not people who—like him—passed all seven. But, it wasn't his place to be selective.

After being rejected at the Magical Menagerie, the stationary store, the apothecary, Flourish and Blotts, and even the secondhand robes shop, Remus was ready to give up. He walked out of the apothecary's, his last stop and leaned against a wall with a sigh. Things were definitely not going his way.

"What is the matter, my boy?" An elderly man with a raspy voice was peering at him. He was tall but hunched over, and wore robes that were even more threadbare and patched up than Remus's.

"Nothing," Remus said. He wasn't going to tell his problems to a complete stranger.

"It doesn't look like nothing. I've watched you walking back and forth between shops." Remus was ready to walk away. This man was weird. "Looking for work, are you?"

Remus shrugged.

"But they will not hire you," the old man continued, "because you are a Creature of the Dark. Am I wrong?"

Remus looked away from the man, not knowing what to say. Finally he asked, "Why do you think that?"

"I can sense it. You appear to be human, but I can feel it inside of you. It is not a quality that has evolved over time, but one that you received in only an instant." The crazy old man continued. "Based on your appearance, I know that you are either a vampire or werewolf, but can assume the latter because you are out in the daylight." His eyes twinkled. "I am correct; your silence confirms that." Remus opened his mouth to say something but the elderly man held his hand up. "Do not speak. I know the truth. But, perhaps I can help you. I know of a gentleman who is looking to hire somebody."

Remus was so desperate for a job that he stood up straight and looked at the man. "Who is it? And where?"

"Follow me," the man said. Remus obeyed.

"Why are you helping me?" Remus asked.

"I too, my dear boy, have faced the same treatment as you for the same reasons."

"You're also a werewolf?" The man didn't answer, just kept leading the way.

He hesitated when they reached the entrance to Knockturn Alley. "Come along, young man." Remus swallowed, placing his hand on his wand. They passed by peddlers who were selling everything from enchanted jewelry to something that looked like human body parts. "Here we are," the old man said as they stopped in front of a store that was only distinguished by the other stores by an old wooden sign that read _Bahltrog's Books_. When they walked into the store, Remus realized that it was very similar to Flourish and Blotts. The only difference was the books on display. The only one that he had ever heard of was _Moste Potente Potions_. The other books had titles like _Dabbling in the Dark Arts_ and _Sadistic Slytherins_. Remus was fairly sure that most of the books in this store were not sold in Flourish and Blotts.

"Oi, Boris!" The old man yelled. A short, round man with large spectacles came around the corner.

"Good afternoon, Sigmund."

"Boris, I've found a boy willing to work for you," Sigmund said in his hoarse voice.

Boris squinted, sizing him up. "What is your name, young man?" he asked Remus.

"Remus. Remus Lupin."

"Well, Mr. Lupin, my name is Boris Bahltrog and this is my good friend Sigmund Parsons, who works at the apothecary shop next door. Tell me, did Sigmund tell you what this job entailed?"

"No," Remus responded, dreading what he would hear next.

Bahltrog chuckled. "I can see from your expression that you're worried about what I'm going to say right now, but don't be. I am looking for an assistant. I have many boxes of books that need to be sorted and shelved. In addition, my last worker was completely mad and she placed books wherever she saw fit, so the entire shop is unorganized. Those books need to be moved around. Also, I have another shop in Germany, so I often make trips there. I need somebody to run the store during my absences. But most of the job is just sorting through books. It's a rather boring job, but it pays well and gives you a chance to look for new books if you enjoy reading. Would you be interested in that?"

Remus hesitated. On one hand, this was a shop that dealt in mainly dark books… but he really needed a job, one that would not eliminate him during a background check. It wasn't as though working here would cause him to turn to the Dark. All he would be doing, after all, was organizing and shelving books. "Yes, I would."

"Very well. You can start tomorrow morning at eight o'clock."

* * *

"You're working _where_?" Sirius asked incredulously. 

"It's called Bahltrog's Books and is in Knockturn Alley." Remus sighed. The two of them were sitting with Peter in a small café near the Ministry of Magic.

"And what type of books does it sell?"

"Dark books." Remus frowned.

"That's what I thought. Remus, _are you out of your mind_?"

"Imagine the type of people who go to a store like that!" Peter said.

"It may not be the most appropriate job for me, but Mr. Bahltrog is the only person who will hire me. I'd rather work there than not at all."

"Are you sure about that?"

"Yes, Sirius." Remus glared at him, something that he rarely did. "Neither of you understand what it's like to be a poor halfblood who can't get a job because he's a werewolf. My parents can barely afford to eat. It isn't fair for me to sit around the house all day when I can be working."

"You can't work at a place like that! What happened to your pride, Moony? You're a Gryffindor!"

"I'm a broke and desperate Gryffindor. It's the only solution."

Both of his friends looked at him skeptically.

"I'm not going to change my mind about it, no matter what either of you say," Remus said. "I refuse to spend any more time forcing my parents to pay for me. They've been struggling to raise me for years already. I'm an adult and need to take responsibility for myself."

"If that's what you want to do, Remus…"

"Yes," Remus responded. "I have to."

* * *

His first week at the job was much better than he expected. Mr. Bahltrog asked no questions of him and left him alone. Every morning, he would assign Remus a task or two and left him to it for the day. Remus learned quickly and was able to navigate the many sections of the bookstore without any problem. He started out moving books that had been wrongly shelved into their proper places—which took up a lot of time, and also opened boxes in the back of the store. It was necessary to perform a spell on each box of books to detect those that were potentially dangerous. Some books bit people, others spit out poisonous fluid, and a few attacked the reader the moment they were opened. The job was, as Bahltrog had warned, uninteresting because he rarely interacted with other people, but it was better than being unemployed. Much to Remus's surprise, he found several books that interested him: _Living with Lycanthropy_ and _Countercurses to Dark Magic_. Perhaps this job would not be so bad after all… 

Remus received his first paycheck the after two weeks on the job. He happily went to Gringotts to cash it and then stopped by the Leaky Cauldron to celebrate with a drink.

He took a seat at the bar and ordered a glass of red currant rum. The wizard at the stool next to him, who appeared to be about ten years older than Remus, turned in his direction. "Are you celebrating or lamenting?"

"Pardon?"

The man smiled. "The only people who come here at this time of the night other than the regulars are those who are either happy or sad about something."

Remus laughed. "I'm definitely celebrating. I just got my first paycheck today."

"Congratulations to you. Where are you working?"

"The bookstore," Remus told him vaguely.

"Oh, Flourish and Blotts?"

"Mmm." Remus didn't want to say where he was really working. Most of the good people in the Wizarding World stayed as far away from Knockturn Alley as possible.

"I work at Gringotts. It's a bloody boring job, but it's better than nothing."

Remus grinned. "I know exactly how you feel. I spend everyday shelving books."

The man next to him laughed. "I'm Ted Tonks, by the way." The name sounded very familiar.

"Remus Lupin." He sat for a second trying to figure out where he had heard the name Ted Tonks. Something Narcissa had said… "You're married to Andromeda Black, aren't you?"

"Why yes, I am. Do you know my wife?"

A lump formed in his throat as he shook his head. "Her sister. Narcissa talked about Andromeda often." It took him a moment to realize that he was revealing more than he wanted a relative stranger to know.

"Oh, so _you're_ Remus! I knew I had heard that name somewhere!" Ted nearly spilled his drink from excitement and he began shaking Remus's hand eagerly. "I've heard all about you." Remus felt extremely awkward. He REALLY did not want to talk about his sad and short-lived relationship with Narcissa. It was hard enough not to think about her. "You're a friend of Sirius, too?" Remus nodded. "My wife stays in contact with him. I've heard all about the exploits of you and your friends at Hogwarts." Remus smiled, glad that the conversation hadn't taken an undesired turn.

"Oh, hell, I'm late again." Ted Tonks quickly downed the rest of his drink. "I'll let Andie know that I talked to you. I'm sure that she'd be very interested in meeting you. Come by again during the week. A lot of wizards come here after a dull day in Diagon Alley."

"Goodbye, it was nice meeting you," Remus said as Ted left. He smiled, thinking of how small the wizarding world was. Remus wondered how Narcissa was doing in her marriage.

* * *

The next few months passed quickly. Remus worked hard at his job, usually six days a week (except around the full moon). After two months on the job, he moved into the flat above the bookstore, which Mr. Bahltrog let for a very reasonable price. It was small, but still comfortable. Within a few weeks, it was like home. 

Remus began devoting most of his free time to Order business. Remus encountered Death Eaters on several occasions, and even Voldemort once. His life became more and more dangerous as the weeks went by. Yet, he did not want to stop his work with the Order. It was the only thing left for him.

He only saw his three best friends a few times a month, usually at Order of the Phoenix meetings, and occasionally on the nights of the full moon. They disapproved of his job and were not shy about telling him so. However, Remus met with his new friend, Ted Tonks, in addition to several other wizards from Gringotts, once or twice every week for a drink after a long day at work. Thankfully, none of them was aware that he was lying about where he worked. It was refreshing to have friends who knew nothing about his lycanthropy.

Despite the instability of the wizarding world, Remus led a relatively normal and uninteresting life. That is, until the day Narcissa walked into the store.

Remus arrived early to work that Monday. Mondays were always the slowest day of the week, which usually meant that they would be lucky if there were more than three customers during the day. After spending the entire morning moving books that were improperly shelved (what kind of person would even think of putting _Dark Wizards of the Dark Ages_ in the Herbology section anyway?), he heard a patron come in, the first of the day. Remus resumed taking wrongly filed books out of the top shelf of the Potions section.

"Ah, Mr. Malfoy, how lovely to see you," he heard Mr. Bahltrog say. Remus's heart skipped a beat. Lucius Malfoy had come into the store several times, and was one of Bahltrog's favorite customers. Remus hated him, and always tried to avoid seeing Malfoy. It wasn't hard; Malfoy ignored everybody he considered beneath him, except for those who had something to offer him.

"I'd like you to meet my wife, Narcissa," Malfoy said. Remus, who was perched on a ladder, nearly fell. What was she doing here? She had never come in before.

"I'm happy to finally meet you, Mrs. Malfoy. I've heard so much about you. What can I help you with today?"

"I'm looking for books about Potions," she said in a cold voice, one that sounded nothing like the voice she had used with him.

"Right through there," Bahltrog said. "And I have several new acquisitions for you in the back, Mr. Malfoy. If you'll just come with me."

Remus felt his face grow hot, knowing that she was coming in his direction. He was unsure why he did not want to see her here, but something just felt wrong about it. It had been about five months since he last saw her, the night before her wedding… Remus quickly stepped off the ladder, ready to leave the area. However, he was being so hasty that he did not notice the pile of books on the floor. Remus tripped, knocking over all of books that he had neatly stacked. Grabbing a shelf, he avoided falling. It was then that he heard her.

"Remus?" she said softly. He turned and saw her, staring at him in shock. His heart began pounding as all of the emotions he had been trying to suppress began to resurface. She looked as beautiful as ever. And as sad as she had since the last time they had seen each other.

He tried to act casual. "Narcissa, what are you doing here?"

"I'm shopping with Lucius." Her voice was shaky. "I should be asking you that question. Why are _you_ here?"

"I'm working," he told her nonchalantly.

She moved closer, almost close enough to touch him. Remus took a step back. "Why are you working at a place like this? It's not like you." She kept moving closer.

Remus sighed. "It was the only place that would hire a werewolf. I've been working here for several months already." His voice was bitter.

"Ah, Remus," she said, putting her hand against his cheek. Her touch felt good, but he knew it was wrong. He pushed her hand away.

"Do you need help finding anything, Mrs. Malfoy? If not, I need to get back to work." His voice was cool.

She looked hurt. "Remus…" Her voice cracked.

"You're married," he said abruptly.

Tears welled up in her eyes, causing him to immediately regret his coldness. "I despise him."

"I apologize, Narcissa. It isn't easy for me to see you now. The past few months have been horrible for me."

"For me, too. I'm scared of Lucius," she said in a voice barely above a whisper. He suddenly realized how much harder their breakup was on her than it was on him.

Without thinking, he walked up to her and pulled her close to him. She sighed happily in his arms. "I've missed you."

Remus closed his eyes and breathed in her scent. It had not changed.

Then, she quickly pulled away. "Lucius might be finished soon." Remus just nodded.

"Remus… I don't suppose that there's any way we can, uh, meet sometime?" He looked at her in surprise. What was she suggesting? She continued. "Remus, neither of us is happy with the way things are right now. And if we don't do something about it, we'll both be miserable forever."

He didn't know what to say. Suddenly, the voices of Malfoy and Bahltrog were approaching them.

"Think about it, Remus. If you decide to, meet me the Leaky Cauldron again tonight at eight o'clock," she said quickly. He immediately knew that he would be unable to decline. She could ask him to fight a Hungarian Horntail with no wand and he would be hard pressed to say no. It scared him that she still had that power over him, even after being away from her for so many months.

"Narcissa, my dear, did you find what you were searching for?" Lucius called. Narcissa cringed, glanced at a few titles, and quickly grabbed a book. Remus pretended to be busy as Malfoy and Bahltrog came around the corner.

"Yes, Lucius." She was back to being aloof. "I am going to buy this book."

"_Salazar's Potions_, what an excellent choice, Mrs. Malfoy."

"Thank you, Mr. Bahltrog."

"Oh, I see that you met my assistant. I do not know what I would do without this young man; he's been reorganizing the entire shop section by section and has done such a wonderful job." Remus was stunned to hear the praise. Bahltrog had never said anything that nice to him before.

"I suppose so," Narcissa said nonchalantly. "Although the Potions section is a bit messy." She sneered. Bahltrog was dumbstruck.

The three of them began walking away. "Just a moment, I forgot my bag," he heard Narcissa say.

An annoyed Lucius Malfoy muttered something incomprehensible.

Narcissa walked back to where Remus was with a small grin on her face.

"The Potions section is a bit messy?" Remus said playfully. Narcissa laughed. He could hear Malfoy and Bahltrog talking in the distance.

He was happy to see her smile, hear her laugh. His heart pounded as he said his next words, when he realized what he was agreeing to. "Eight o'clock at the Leaky Cauldron, Narcissa?"

Her face turned red. She was speechless for a second, but then regained her composure. "I'll see you tonight."


End file.
